(PNA file photo by Joan Bondoc)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Office of the Solicitor General (SolGen) stressed the need to amend the nearly four-decade-old Omnibus Election Code (OEC) to effectively punish various poll offenses.
“The Comelec cannot define a crime if there is no law punishing it. Ibig sabihin, mahirap kasi ang daming gusto ipatupad ng Comelec. Magiging effective lang ang Comelec sa pagpapatupad ng batas natin kung updated mga batas (It would be difficult the Comelec wants to implement so many things. The Comelec can only be effective in enforcing the law if this is updated)," Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a presser after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the poll body, Office of the Solicitor General, National Amnesty Commission, and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) at its main office in Intamuros, Manila.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevara also supported the poll body chief's remarks, citing the issue of premature campaigning.
“Malayo pa election, ang dami ng personalities na nagsusulputan ang (The elections are still far from now but a lot of personalities already have) tarpaulins, commercials and so on na alam naman na part ito ng kanilang (and we know that this is part of their) campaign strategy. But meron tayong batas na kung hindi pa campaign period ay hindi pa matatawag na (we have a law that states that if it yet campaign period, it is not) premature campaigning. We know this as a fact but is not reflected in the law,” the top government counsel added.
Guevarra admitted that such a measure is not included in the priority bills to be passed by lawmakers.
Under the Poll Automation Law, “any person who files his certificate of candidacy shall only be considered as a candidate at the start of the campaign period”, and “unlawful acts applicable to a candidate shall be in effect only upon the start of the campaign period".
In 2009, the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed the provision in the case of Peñera vs. Comelec, which paved the way for the removal of premature campaigning as an election offense.
“The Election Code is too old. It would be difficult to implement it. We notice that when cases reach the Supreme Court, the lower courts also have a hard time in deciding on the cases because the present circumstances do not jive with our law," he added.
On the other hand, the MOA signed by the poll body and PTFoMS aims to ensure the safety and respect for the rights of the members of the press covering the elections.
Garcia signed the MOA on behalf of the commission while executive director Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez represented PTFoMS,
The MOA is the first of its kind between the Comelec, an independent constitutional body, and the PTFoMS, the government’s mechanism to address all violations on the right to life, liberty, and security of all members of the press, since the latter’s creation under Administrative Order (AO) No. 1 in 2016.
It recognizes the important role of the media in scrupulously reporting and interpreting the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. (PNA)
