SWS scores election survey ban, mulls raps vs Comelec

The Commission on Elections' (Comelec) list of critics continued to grow Monday after survey firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) described the poll body's defiance of a Supreme Court ruling as a violation of the freedom of expression. "In an act of sheer incompetence, if not of outright malice, the Commission on Elections has issued a Resolution forbidding publication of election surveys, in direct defiance of a Supreme Court decision declaring election surveys protected by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression," SWS head Mahar Mangahas said in a statement. He also threatened to sue the Comelec on the matter, saying the SWS will "take whatever formal legal action is necessary to force the Comelec to abide by the Supreme Court ruling in G.R. 147571." Mangahas was referring to the Comelec's en banc Resolution 7767 dated November 30 last year, containing rules and regulations in relation to the May 2007 elections. The resolution declared that surveys affecting national candidates shall not be published 15 days before the day of the election and surveys affecting local candidates shall not be published seven days before the day of the election. However, Mangahas noted that the same resolution was in the Fair Election Act "declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on 5 May 2001." "Having been the petitioner in G.R. 147571, and thus winning the legal battle for election survey freedom, Social Weather Stations deserves an apology from Comelec for making such a grievous error," he said. Mangahas said he learned of the "offending" Comelec provision only last January 22, after receiving an invitation to speak at television network show on the subject of election surveys. He said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez admitted on the television program that the Comelec resolution was a mistake, but claimed that it was not intentional and would be corrected "soon." Mangahas said he got a copy of Resolution 7767 only on January 26 through personal contacts. As of Monday, he said he has not seen any correction from Comelec. "For two months already, ever since Nov. 30, 2006, and for as long as no correction is made, Comelec Resolution 7767 is a continuing violation of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution," he said. Mangahas noted that during the open forum of the annual SWS Survey Review at the Asian Institute of Management last January 25, a participant from the academic sector was worried that the Comelec resolution would force cancellation of her plans to do an election survey. "I had to inform her of the Supreme Court ruling protecting her right to publish an election survey, and advised her to defy the Comelec on this matter," he said. - GMANews.TV