Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday said it would treat premature campaigning for the village and youth council polls as an election offense as anyone who filed certificate of candidacy would now be deemed as a candidate liable for election code violations. The Comelec en banc veered away from a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that virtually nullified premature campaigning, or engaging in election activities outside the campaign period, as an election offense. It said the landmark decision in 2009 covered only automated elections. The barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls in October will be manual. “The Supreme Court ruling may well be applicable for the conduct of automated elections alone. This, therefore, excludes the coming barangay and SK elections, which will be implemented by manual voting,” the Comelec said in a statement. —Kathleen de Villa