Poll lawyers defends Bacolod bishop vs Comelec

Atty. Romeo Macalintal. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—An election lawyer came to the defense of the diocese of Bacolod on Friday, saying the Commission on Elections could not  prohibit the church from putting up a huge campaign poster because the site was a private property.

In a statement, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal also said it was part of the church’s religious freedom to disseminate its religious stand and message to the parishioners, which the Comelec cannot prohibit by its rules on campaigning.

“Strictly speaking, the church is not ‘campaigning’ but merely reiterating and giving emphasis on its stand against the Reproductive Health (RH) Law,” Macalintal said.

On Thursday, Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the election body will file criminal charges against officials of the Bacolod diocese if they continued to refuse to remove the oversized poster mounted on the façade of the San Sebastian Cathedral.

The poster identified the senatorial candidates whom Catholics should support and reject based on their position on the RH law, which was passed late last year after a long battle in Congress.

“There is no clear and present danger to the citizenry, which could be the basis for the government to stop the church from what it is doing,” Macalintal said.

He also suggested that instead of focusing  on the issue, the election body should exert more effort in educating voters on the proper exercise of their right to suffrage by voting on the basis of candidates’ qualifications and preventing the balloting from becoming a popularity contest.

Brillantes  maintained that as far as the election body was concerned, it was okay for churches to mount election paraphernalia as long as it was according to the size indicated under the campaign rules.

“The church is a private property,  I agree. That’s why you can put propaganda material there but it has to be lawful,” Brillantes told reporters Friday.

The election body would also not prohibit other churches from replicating what has been done in Bacolod City “because it is their expression of preference” for as long as the posters measure  2 by 3 feet, said Brillantes.

While the Comelec recognized  the Church’s right to exercise religious freedom, Brillantes said the Comelec was also studying a provision in the Omnibus Election Code that prohibits, among others, any religious organization from coercing or intimidating or influencing members or parishioners to vote for or against any candidate.

Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code states that the following shall be guilty of an election offense: “Any public officer, or any officer of any public or private corporation or association, or any head, superior, or administrator of any religious organization… who coerces or intimidates or compels, or in any manner influences, directly or indirectly, any of his subordinates or members or parishioners… to aid, campaign or vote for or against any candidate or any aspirant for the nomination or selection of candidates.”

Brillantes said they were studying if such provision could be applied in the case of the Diocese of Bacolod.