Commission on Elections-Central Visayas Director Lionel Marco Castillano. (PNA file photo)
CEBU CITY – The top regional election official here on Tuesday reminded individuals planning to run in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30 to familiarize themselves with the rules for campaigning.
Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Commission on Elections (Comelec) - Central Visayas regional director, said that BSKE rules are different from those of the regular local and national elections, especially on campaigning.
The election period for the village polls, Castillano said, will start on Aug. 28, the start of the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) which will end on Sept. 2.
He said candidates will not be allowed to hold activities related to campaigning on the day after the last day of filing of the COC or on Sept. 3 until Oct. 18.
The 10-day campaign period will be on Oct. 19 to 28.
“On Sept. 3 to Oct. 18, the candidates are not allowed to campaign because the decision of the Supreme Court in Penera vs. Comelec whereby premature campaigning is committed, does not apply to manual elections (like the BSKE),” Castillano said during the Open Line Forum here.
Castillano stressed that BSKE candidates “can only be considered candidates at the start of the campaign period.
He also said that although no one has ever been convicted of vote-buying, the election body is serious in charging individuals who will be caught involved in selling and buying votes.
Voters, he, said should also help the Comelec in penalizing vote-sellers and buyers by coordinating with the law enforcement units from arrest to prosecution and until the conviction.
Candidates should also file their statements of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) so that they will not be penalized if they fail to do so or are found to have overspent during the elections, he said.
“Be very careful with overspending. The 30 days after the elections, the last day of filing of SOCE will be on Nov. 29,” Castillano said.
All candidates, including those running for SK, are mandated by law to file their SOCE, he said.
Under the law, BSKE candidates are allowed to spend only PHP5 per voter. (PNA)
