The camp of Vice President and presidential bet Leni Robredo is considering suing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for what it says is the unconstitutional removal of tarpaulins and posters from private property.
Robredo’s spokesman, Barry Gutierrez, and her election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the Comelec violated the Fair Elections Act and jurisprudence.
“It is very arbitrary and a clear case of abuse of power and discretion, and violation of one’s constitutional right to property.
This is what the Comelec has done to those non-candidates who posted alleged oversized campaign materials on their own private properties,” Macalintal said.
“It was a very arbitrary act of the Comelec because said persons were never given the chance to be heard, which violated their procedural right to due process, when said campaign materials were removed without any hearing,” he added.
Gutierrez urged the Comelec to review its policy because “that is a clear violation of the Constitution.”
The Comelec on Wednesday led the removal of election campaign posters that it said were either oversized or posted in restricted areas. One of the tarpaulins taken down, based on a livestream aired on the Comelec’s Facebook page, was of Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan.
Macalintal, who represented Robredo in the poll protest filed by defeated vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in 2016, stressed that the Fair Elections Act does not apply to non-candidates, and that its provisions on election propaganda materials pertain only to candidates and political parties.
He also said the Comelec resolution limiting the common poster area size for political parties, party-lists and independent candidates was “absurd,” given the number of candidates there were.
In a separate statement, former Bayan Muna representative and human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares said the poll body’s Oplan Baklas “runs counter to what our regulations ought to be.”
“We have always pointed out that election laws exist to create an equal playing field for all candidates. The essence of these regulations allows the marginalized to participate in the most important democratic exercise in our country so that the people may elect deserving leaders,” Colmenares, who is running for senator, said.
“Instead of letting people express their support, Comelec has overreached through the takedown of campaign materials in private properties without due process,” he added.
Colmenares said the poll body should review and overhaul its regulations, “which put moneyed candidates at an advantage and disenfranchise people running grassroots campaigns.”
He also said the Comelec should focus more on scrutinizing massive monetary donations instead of people expressing support for their chosen candidates.
Another presidential candidate, Senator Panfilo Lacson, said the Comelec should have more practical and realistic regulations in the run-up to the May 9 national elections.
Lacson questioned the Comelec’s view that it was all right to take down election materials on private property.
“This is my property, I can do what I please with it, as long as I don’t hurt anyone else. Why won’t you allow it? If I put menacing cannon on my property that scare others, maybe then the homeowner or private property owner could be liable. But something as harmless as tarpaulins, I think they should revisit that (regulation),” Lacson said.
Lacson’s running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, said the Comelec’s statement that candidates would be held liable for infractions was ill considered.
“For instance, I’ll find a vacant house and put up a 50-by-50 foot portrait of (presidential candidate) Manny Pacquiao there. So what? Is Manny disqualified?”
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said anyone was free to file a complaint before the Comelec.
“I would recommend to anyone who has a problem with what we are doing to file a complaint about what we are doing. In the meantime, we are taking steps to make sure that our laws are being complied with,” he said in a press briefing.
Based on Comelec rules, common poster areas are located in public places such as plazas, markets, barangay centers, and other areas with heavy pedestrian or vehicular traffic in the city/municipality as approved by the election officers.
Also, posters and tarpaulins may be posted in private properties, provided that the posting has the consent of the owner.