THERE’S no stopping deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte from expressing her opposition against the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) resolution which bans government officials from campaigning their preferred candidates in the upcoming national polls.
READ: Comelec reminds gov’t execs: Campaign for candidates, face raps
Reacting to Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez’s remark that she should not be alarmed by the provision stated in Section 1, number 4 (e) of Resolution No. 10049, Valte called the rule as “unjustified and legally infirm.”
“C’mon @jabjimenez. I should not be alarmed by censorship? Especially unjustified and legally infirm censorship? That’s absurd,” Valte said in a Twitter post on Thursday.
The said provision read: “Personal opinions, views, and preferences for candidates, contained in blogs and micro-blogs shall not be considered as acts of election campaigning or partisan political activity unless expressed by government officials in the Executive Department, the Legislative Department, the Judiciary, the Constitutional Commissions, and members of the Civil Service.”
Valte, a lawyer by profession, first took to Facebook to air her views against the “particularly alarming” resolution, which was promulgated last Feb. 1 by the poll body.
“Freedom of speech, anyone? Kelan pa bumalik ang Martial Law? Di ba 2016 na? (When was Martial Law re-imposed? Isn’t it 2016 already?)” she said.
READ: Valte decries Comelec ‘ban’ on gov’t officials posting about candidates
In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Jimenez said a violation of the implementing rules may serve as basis for an administrative complaint against the involved government official.
“As a general rule, we don’t want employees of the civil service to be giving the impression that they are for or against any particular candidate. I don’t think Sec. Valte has to be alarmed,” Jimenez said, noting that the resolution was a “rational application of laws and jurisprudence.
READ: Comelec to Valte: ‘Ban’ for gov’t execs from campaigning ‘a good rule’