MANILA, Philippines–The Supreme Court has ruled with finality on its decision declaring as unconstitutional the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) airtime limit on political advertisements.
In a one-page resolution, the high court dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Comelec through the Office of the Solicitor-General for failure to present new arguments that would warrant a reversal of its Sept. 2 ruling.
“The Court resolved to deny with finality the said motion for reconsideration as the basic issues raised therein have been passed upon by this court and no substantial arguments were presented to warrant a reversal of the questioned decision,” the high court said.
Comelec office. FILE PHOTO
Last September, the high court declared as unconstitutional Section 9 (a) of Resolution No. 9615 as amended by Resolution No. 9631 and made permanent the restraining order it issued last April, 2013.
Section 9 of the rule provides that:
National candidates have 120 minutes in TV advertising and 180 minutes in radio advertising, while local candidates have 60 minutes TV advertising and 90 minutes for radio.
The regulation was aimed at leveling the playing field among political candidates, as envisioned under the 2001 Fair Elections Act.
The previous rule which the SC recognizes gives the national candidate 120 minutes per TV network and 180 minutes PER radio while local candidates have 60 minutes per TV network and 90 minutes advertisement per radio station.
In striking down the rule, the high court said it is in violation of the freedom of the expression, speech and the press.
The high court also said it violated the people’s right to suffrage while it also noted the absence of prior hearing before the adoption of the resolution.
But the Court sustained the other provisions of the assailed resolution since “it did not impose an unreasonable burden on the broadcast industry and the provision of the right to reply is reasonable under the circumstances.”
While it has yet to see a copy of the resolution, the Comelec said it would consider the SC ruling in crafting campaign rules for the 2016 elections.
“Rest assured, the Comelec remains committed to ensuring the election rules are enforced and that the electorate is not denied the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the candidates and their platforms,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said in a text message.
It can be recalled that the poll body passed the assailed resolution in January last year followed a month later by Resolution 9631 to keep the advertisement cap.
In coming up with the said resolution, the Comelec cited the original interpretation of Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Election Act of 2001 which limited campaign ads in television to 120 minutes for the entire campaign period though the law is vague on whether the time limit applied to all television stations nationwide or per station or network.
Broadcast networks GMA Network Inc., ABS-CBN, TV5 and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas questioned the regulation for being too “restrictive,” saying the airtime limit betrayed the public’s right to information. With a report from Nestor Corrales, INQUIRER.net
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