Red, green lights at Comelec’s rented building to be turned off after uproar
MANILA, Philippines — The red and green lights that illuminate the facade of the Palacio del Gobernador, where the Commission on Elections rents several floors for its offices, will be turned off after social media users questioned what they deemed to be a show of partisanship.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez told reporters that the Intramuros Administration will now take down the building’s “Christmas colors.”
“We’re just renting here. But this was brought to our attention by a netizen and we felt that that’s something that we can do right away so we coordinated with the Intramuros Administration … They’re gonna take down the Christmas colors,” Jimenez was quoted as saying.
Asked if the change of accent lights was Comelec’s initiative, Jimenez said that the Intramuros Administration was “sensitive to the internet and to Twitter specifically, and they were able to come to that decision themselves.”
Twitter users flagged the red and green lights that illuminate Palacio del Gobernador as they pointed out that these are the campaign colors of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
This comes at the height of the backlash at Oplan Baklas, where Comelec officials took down oversized posters and tarpaulins even on private property. This has been decried by some quarters, particularly supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo, as “outright harassment.”
Aside from the Comelec, the Bureau of Treasury, the Home Development Mutual Fund and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission are also housed in Palacio del Gobernador.
Government buildings cannot be used for political partisan activities and government workers also cannot engage in electioneering. — Xave Gregorio with a report from Greg Gregorio/News5
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