Bayan Muna files bill prohibiting premature campaigning

Bayan Muna party-list lawmakers on Tuesday filed a measure seeking to determine the period of candidacy for election purposes and prohibit premature campaigning.

House Bill 10616 filed by Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Carlos Isagani Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat, and Ferdinand Gaite seeks “to equalize the playing field among candidates by removing the confusion brought about by the provision in the Automated Election System Law, which determines the individual becomes a candidate.”

The lawmakers also underscored that the premature campaigning is “wicked, unfair, and must be prohibited.”

This comes more than two months before the start of the official campaign for the May 9 national and local elections on February 8, 2022.

The lawmakers said billboards have lined up in major roads and expressways in the country featuring individual political aspirants that can afford to pay millions for the advertisements.

They added that advertisements in television, radio, and even social media of known candidates have also started flooding ahead of the campaign period.

“In an electoral atmosphere when rules that supposedly uphold fair play are ineffective, poor candidates and poor party-list groups are practically withered away and left far behind from the race, by the visibility of the rich political dynasties and candidates,” the lawmakers said.

“Since 2009, moneyed candidates have been able to launch their electoral campaign without violating the law, even before the start of the campaign period. This practice was brought about by the promulgation of Penera v. COMELEC,” they added.

The lawmakers cited Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) which states that “it shall be unlawful for any persons, whether or not a voter or candidate, or for any party, or any association of persons, to engage in election campaign or partisan political activity except during the campaign period.”

The solons, however, said that Section 13 of Republic Act No. 9369, as amended, qualified the foregoing OEC provision on unlawful campaigning, to wit: “any person who files his certificate of candidacy within this period shall only be considered at the start of the campaign period for which be filed his certificate of candidacy: Provided, That unlawful acts or omissions applicable to a candidate shall effect only upon that start of the aforesaid campaign period.”

They said this defeated the intent of Section 80 of the OEC when it removed “candidates” from the ambit of Section 80. They added that it is the reason why premature campaigning is no longer considered unlawful.

However, the lawmakers underscored that the Supreme Court said they only applied the law.

“This bill seeks to equalize the playing field among candidates by removing the confusion brought about by the provision in the Automated Election System Law, which determines the individual becomes a candidate. This also brings back the effectivity of Sec. 80 of the OEC, and not only disqualifies candidates for premature campaigning (Sec. 68 of the OEC) but also criminalizes the same,” they added.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez earlier called the practice unfair and tilted against those without the millions of pesos needed to start their campaigns too early.

“Hindi 'yan illegal pero napakasama niyan sa sistema. Kasi kapag may pera ka makakapagsimula ka na ng kampanya ngayon pa lang," Jimenez told veteran journalist Malou Mangahas.

(That's not illegal but that's very bad for the system. Because when you have money you can start a campaign right now.)

Unfair or not, Jimenez said there's nothing the Comelec could do about it.—AOL, GMA News