AN election watchdog on Friday asked the Commission on Elections to order the removal of all government signages bearing the words “Daang Matuwid” because they are supposedly illegal campaign materials giving undue advantage to Liberal Party candidates.
In a complaint filed before the Comelec, the group Kontra Daya said the poll body committed a grave abuse of discretion in allowing LP standard bearer Manuel Roxas II and his running mate Leni Robredo to use the name “Daang Matuwid” as their nicknames.
“It is obvious that the names appearing in the official ballot pertaining to these candidates violate several election laws,” the group, through its convener Danny Arao, said.
They said the Comelec violates Rule II Section 4, 5 and 7 of the Comelec Resolution No. 9984.
“Daang Matuwid is not these candidates’ nicknames or the names they are generally or popularly known,” the group said.
“It is of public knowledge that the present administration, headed by no less than the President of the Philippines, has been using the tagline ‘daang matuwid’ or ‘tuwid na daan’ everywhere, in every project announcement or advertisement,” it added.
Arao said both Roxas and Robredo, as bets of the present administration, have deliberately used the “Daang Matuwid” slogan as their nicknames and the Aquino administration has purposely allowed them to do so “to give said pair the added but unfair and illegal advantage of the use of an attempt to deliberately mislead and misinform the voters.”
The group also said that with Roxas and Robredo using the slogan “Daang Matuwid” as nickname, it has become clear, as of Feb. 12, 2016, that all issuances of the Aquino Adminsitration, from posters and billboards announcing government projects to television advertisements to issued documents containing “Daang Matuwid,” paid for or otherwise produced using public funds and resources, have become political advertisement or election propaganda.
Former Comelec commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal had earlier raised the same complaint and also urged the government to take down all public materials bearing Daang Matuwid.
He cited the Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code which provides individuals that may be guilty of an election offense.
But Roxas’ spokesperson Rep. Barry Gutierrez, defended the administration bets, saying that it was the Comelec’s decision to allow them to adopt the nickname.”¨”¨
“It was the Comelec’s decision to allow it. We will abide by the Comelec’s process. If groups and individuals that are affiliated with one of our rival candidates insist on using this issue to attempt to score political points, that it is their choice,” Gutierrez said.”¨”¨
The group said Robredo also exceeded the “30-character limitation, which includes spaces and g( ) h, as specified by Section 7.