MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections on Wednesday afternoon said the removal of election materials in private areas has been put on stop following the order from the Supreme Court.
In a briefing, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that during the en banc meeting of the Commission, “it was agreed that, of course, the Comelec will honor the TRO issued by the SC.”
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Prior to the briefing, the SC Public Information Office shared a copy of the TRO it issued, following the petition of supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo to temporarily stop the implementation of parts of Resolution No. 10730. News5 reported that Comelec has received the order before 2:00 p.m.
The COMELEC has received a copy of the Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Supreme Court against “Oplan Baklas.” However, no statement has been issued about this matter yet. @News5PH @onenewsph
— Greg Gregorio (@GVGregorio_TV5) March 9, 2022
SC spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka earlier said that the TRO will be deemed effective “upon actual receipt of the order by the person or persons being restrained,” following the Rules of Court.
Jimenez said: “We will continue with our ‘baklas’ operations in public spaces as it is required by law. However, as far as ‘baklas’ in private places, that is held in abeyance in deference to the court.”
The TRO was issued against a part of the resolution connected to the Comelec’s “order to dismantle, remove, destroy deface, and/or confiscate all election materials that are privately owned and private funded solely by volunteers and private citizens and posted and/or installed within their private properties.”
Specifically, the TRO was issued top stop enjoin the poll body from implementing Section 21 (o), Section 24 and Section 27 of the Comelec Resolution No. 10730.
Comment on petition
The SC also gave the Comelec a non-extendible period of 10 days to file its comment on the petition.
Jimenez said that the Comelec is still “looking to see who will draft comment,” noting that the Office of the Solicitor General has had taken contrary position to the poll body.
Solicitor General Jose Calida earlier this week took the Comelec, his office’s statutory client, to the SC to ask the high court to void its Memorandum of Agreement with Rappler.
The Comelec has since suspended the MOA, pending the resolution of the petition.
“We wait to see, as you know OSG taken a contrary position to us, we’re waiting what their position will be,” Jimenez added.
The petitioners, who are supporters of presidential bet Robredo from different areas, argued that Resolution 10730 is unconstitutional “for being a direct violation of the people’s constitutional rights to freedom of expression, due process of law, equal protection clause and property.”
Petitioners also said the Comelec violated their right to freedom of speech and expression, as they asserted that tarpaulins and posters, procured at their own expense, removed are their political expressions of support for their chosen candidates. — Kristine Joy Patag with report from News5/Greg Gregorio