EDITORIAL - Backlash over baklas

A person’s house is a person’s castle, where freedom of expression can be exercised. This point is being raised by supporters of certain candidates, notably Vice President Leni Robredo, whose campaign materials displayed inside their private property in Santiago, Isabela were dismantled last Wednesday by Commission on Elections personnel backed by police. The Comelec personnel reportedly cited size limit rules on campaign materials as they carried out “Oplan Baklas.”

The next day, a pro-Robredo mural on the wall of another private property was also erased by police-backed Comelec personnel in Echague town. When the property owner painted the wall pink, it was later vandalized with the words “BBM for pres” – a reference to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. The camp of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno has voiced a similar complaint about his tarpaulins being taken down from private property in Isabela.

While Comelec rules allow the display of campaign materials on private property, it has stood firm on its takedown of oversized materials. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez explains that freedom of speech is not absolute and accepts regulation under certain circumstances. A “species of speech” used as election propaganda becomes a constitutionally valid subject of Comelec regulation, according to Jimenez.

If the display of election materials on private property is not regulated, the Comelec argues, what will stop wealthy candidates and parties from making their supporters drape their homes and private office buildings with outsize billboards and streamers? What will stop them from painting giant election murals on the walls of their private skyscrapers or commercial complexes?

Yesterday in Manila, the Comelec continued taking down campaign materials, this time of all candidates, which violate rules on size limits and common display areas.

This controversy could again reach the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Comelec has expressed openness to fine-tuning its rules and meeting with the candidates’ camps regarding Oplan Baklas. The candidates should welcome the imposition of size limits and common display areas on their campaign materials, because it could minimize their expenses. The Comelec, however, must ensure that enforcement is uniformly applied, without favor toward any candidate, and with civil rights respected.