The Commission on Elections has suspended the implementation of its voter information campaign deal with news site Rappler after the Office of the Solicitor General asked the Supreme Court to nullify it.
Acting Comelec chairperson Socorro Inting signed the memorandum ordering the suspension, addressed to poll body spokesperson James Jimenez.
“Given the allegations against Rappler and the subsequent filing of the petition with the Supreme Court, it is judicious for the Commission to hold in abeyance the implementation of the provisions of the MOA (memorandum of agreement) until the issues are settled and/or decision of the court is rendered,” Inting said.
“All actions in connection with the MOA shall be deferred including coordination between the Commission and Rappler on matters of the MOA,” she added.
Rappler said the “unilateral decision” of Inting was “regrettable.”
“The Comelec’s own lawyers studied the contract with Rappler and found no legal obstacles. It was signed by both parties in good faith on February 24, 2022, with the intent of ensuring transparent and credible elections,” the online news site said in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that Commissioner Inting, who signed off on this agreement as acting chairman less than two weeks ago, and who declared just a day ago that the commission would await the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter, has gone ahead and unilaterally given instructions to set our agreement aside,” Rappler added.
Some former Comelec officials and advocates for clean elections also expressed concern over the decision of the poll body.
For former Comelec commissioner Luie Guia, it would have been better if the Comelec went on with the agreement until a court order was issued against it.
“That way, it could have avoided the impression that it was unsure of the legality or wisdom of its actions or, worse, had succumbed to the pressure of the solicitor general, thus compromising its independence,” he said.
Election lawyer Emil Marañon shared a similar sentiment, claiming Solicitor-General Jose Calida’s allegations remained unproven.
“The things that Calida raised are actually not new, these are issues that were raised before. I’m pretty sure before the Comelec signed the partnership, at the very least, they are expected to do due diligence,” Marañon said.
Former Cory Aquino-appointed Comelec chairman and 1987 Constitution framer Christian Monsod also criticized Calida for seeking to stop the partnership deal.
“The Comelec always enters with media people an arrangement for them, and it’s fact-checking,” Monsod said in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel ANC, adding “I think in terms of credibility, Rappler and the Comelec have a higher credibility than Mister Calida.”
Last month, the OSG sent a letter to Comelec, asking it to unilaterally rescind the MOA with Rappler .
Calida reiterated his claim that Rappler was a foreign corporation, and that its participation in the Philippine elections through the MOA was thus considered foreign interference, a violation of the country’s election laws and the 1987 Constitution.