Comelec to intensify campaign vs poster violations

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be working double time on its crackdown on unlawful campaign posters as the poll body expects more violations with the May elections drawing near.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said Comelec personnel would be scaling up their efforts to document unlawful campaign materials so that appropriate actions could be taken against the erring candidates.

He also said that many candidates have already violated the campaign poster rules and the commission expects the situation to worsen in the coming weeks.

“As we get closer to the elections, the level of compliance is probably going to drop dramatically. This means we will see more violations because the campaign period is already near its end,” Jimenez said.

He added that candidates usually come out with everything they’ve got during the last few weeks of the campaign to get the voters’ support and that violation of campaign rules is more common among local candidates.

“Regardless if they get caught or not, candidates will be ready to put it all on the line during this period so the Comelec is preparing for this,” he added.

Under Comelec Resolution 9615, campaign posters must measure only two feet by three feet and displayed in common poster areas identified by election officers. Propaganda materials can be displayed in private property provided that it has the consent of the owners and the posters are within the allowed sizes.

“Our local offices have already been authorized to issue notices (to erring candidates). We have not received any official report from the field but we know that notices have already been sent out,” Jimenez added.

In its notices, Comelec urges candidates to take down their unlawful campaign propaganda within three days or face disqualification proceedings.

Jimenez warned that even if the erring candidate has already been proclaimed and assumed office, the candidate could still be disqualified if found guilty of defying campaign rules.

So far, the poll body has already lodged disqualification cases against party-list groups Kabataan, Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide or Piston, and LPG Marketer’s Association for violation of campaign rules. Buhay party-list is also undergoing preliminary investigation for similar violations.

Embassy staff trained on PCOS operation

Meanwhile, key officials of the Comelec are abroad to supervise the training of embassy personnel on the use of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines four days before the start of the month-long automated overseas absentee voting (OAV).

“Our commissioners have been very hands on with the training of the post officials, specifically on the use of PCOS. They are doing very well,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez left for Kuwait Monday night while Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes and commissioners Elias Yusoph and Lucenito Tagle left for Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, respectively.

Commissioners Christian Robert Lim and Grace Padaca, on the other hand, have been in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, respectively.

Jimenez said Lim even topped the certification of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that is training members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) who will administer the elections.

“So we have at least one commissioner that I know who is technically and literally qualified to be a member of the BEI. That’s how expert he is now with PCOS,” Jimenez said, adding that the commissioners are not required to undergo the DOST certification process. 

“He (Lim) voluntarily submitted himself to DOST certification which he passed with flying colors, so it is a very nice development for us,” Jimenez added.

Currently, there are 988,384 registered voters abroad. The Comelec has automated the OAV in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to encourage more Filipinos overseas to vote.

During the country’s first electronic polls in 2010, only Hong Kong and Singapore were covered by automated elections.

Comelec records showed that Hong Kong and Singapore account for 19,760 and 9,143 newly registered overseas absentee voters in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Dubai, on one hand, had the highest number of absentee voters in the Middle East with 22,374, followed by Kuwait (11,194), Riyadh (9,560), Abu Dhabi (5,388), and Jeddah (1,591).

Vote buying still rampant

But even though the poll body has establish OAV and the Automated Election System (AES) to encourage higher voter turnout and to prevent election fraud, vote buying has remained rampant over the last 15 years, comprising 50 percent of the problems in Philippine elections, said Comelec Planning Director Ferdinand Rafanan.

During the launching of the Movement of Concerned Christians for Good Governance (MCCGG) that aims for a vote-buying-free elections, Rafanan said that vote buying remains as “the biggest problem in our elections.”

“Vote buying has become cultural and has been with us for so many generations,” Rafanan said during the launching of the MCCGG in San Fabian, Pangasinan yesterday.

Rafanan added in his 15 years in the poll body he observed that vote buying became worse in the entire country, and that the lack of personnel in the commission comprises another 25 percent of election problems. –With Eva Visperas, Delon Porcalla