Comelec to go after violators of election rules

At least 50 candidates in the recently concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections will be facing charges for violating the campaign guidelines, the City Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday. City Comelec Officer Ferdinand Bermejo said these candidates will be held liable for posting their campaign materials outside the designated common poster area. “They placed their campaign materials in the trees and outside the common poster areas,” Bermejo told Palawan News. He said violations were commonly observed in Barangays Mandaragat, Sicsican, San Miguel, Masipag, Irawan, and San Pedro. Bermejo said they will consolidate the evidence and file the election charges after the election period. Under Comelec Resolution 10294, designated common poster areas are selected public places, such as plazas, markets, barangay centers and the likes. Common poster areas, meanwhile, do not refer to a post, a tree, the wall of a building or an existing public structure in active use. Violators of the campaigning guidelines are subject to Philippine Omnibus Election Code penalties, which include one to six years of jail time without probation, disqualification from holding public office and deprivation of the right to vote. Owners of printing press who caused the printing of unlawful campaign election propaganda are also criminally liable, with their franchise of business permit subject to revocation.