Eleksyon 2025: The do's and don'ts during campaign period

The 90-day campaign period for the national candidates vying for positions in Eleksyon 2025 started Tuesday, February 11, while local candidates will begin wooing their constituents on March 28.

However, campaigning will be prohibited on April 17 (Maundy Thursday), April 18 (Good Friday), May 11 (eve of Election Day), and  May 12 (Election Day).

Here are the guidelines and prohibited acts under Republic Act No. 9006 or the Fair Elections Act that candidates and supporters need to keep in mind while doing their campaign rallies and sorties.

Lawful Election Propaganda

The Comelec provided a list of lawful election propaganda for this year’s elections as it urged candidates to opt for recyclable and environmentally-sustainable materials. The allowed election propaganda are:

• Pamphlets, leaflets, cards, decals, stickers or other written or printed materials the size of which does not exceed eight and one-half inches in width and fourteen inches in length;
• Handwritten or printed letters urging voters to vote for or against any particular political party or candidate for public office;
• Cloth, paper or cardboard posters, whether framed or posted, with an area not exceeding two feet by three feet, except that, at the site and on the occasion of a public meeting or rally, or in announcing the holding of said meeting or rally, streamers not exceeding three feet by eight feet in size. These streamers may be displayed five days before the date of the meeting or rally and shall be removed within 24 hours after said meeting or rally;
• Mobile units, vehicles, motorcades of all types, whether engine or manpower driven or animal drawn, with or without sound systems or loud speakers and with or without lights; Pamphlets, leaflets, cards/ decals, stickers, or other written or printed materials posted on mobile units, vehicles/ or motorcades sha1l be subject to the size limitations provided by the poll body;
• Paid advertisements in print or broadcast media subject to the requirements set forth in Section 11 hereof and the Fair Election Act;
• Outdoor and static or LED billboards owned by private entities or persons;
• Mobile or transit advertisement on public utility vehicles provided that the advertisement is consistent with the guidelines of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for commercial advertisement;
• Signboard displayed in the headquarters subject to the limitation of Comelec; and
• All other forms of election propaganda not prohibited by the Omnibus Election Code.

Meanwhile, the poll body bans the following election propaganda activities:

a. To print or publish any newspaper, newsletter, newsweekly, gazette or magazine advertising, pamphlet, leaflet, card or any published or printed political matter and to air or broadcast any election propaganda or political advertisement by television or radio for or against a candidate or group of candidates to any public office, unless they bear and be identified by the reasonably legible, or audible words “political advertisement paid for,” followed by the true and correct name and address of the candidate or party for whose benefit the election propaganda was printed or aired.

b. To print, publish, broadcast, display or exhibit any such election propaganda donated or given free of charge by any person or publishing firm or broadcast media entity to a candidate or party without the written acceptance of the said candidate or party, and unless they bear and be identified by the words "printed free of charge,” or “airtime for this broadcast was provided free of charge by”, respectively, followed by the true and correct name and address of the said publishing firm or broadcast entity;

c. To show, display or exhibit publicly in a theater, through a television station, a video sharing site, social media network, or any public forum any movie, cinematography or documentary, including concert or any type of performance portraying the life or biography of a candidate, or in which a character is portrayed by an actor or media personality who is himself or herself a candidate;

d. For any newspaper or publication, radio, television, or cable television station, or other mass media entity, or any person making use of the mass media to sell or give free print or advertising space or airtime for campaign or election propaganda purposes to any candidate or party in excess of the size, duration or frequency authorized by law or these Rules.

e. For any radio, television, cable television station, announcer, or broadcaster to allow the scheduling of any program, or permit any sponsor to manifestly favor or oppose any candidate or party by unduly or repeatedly referring to, or unnecessarily mentioning his or her name, or including the said candidate or party;

f. To post election campaign or propaganda material outside of authorized common poster areas, in public places, or in private properties without the consent of the owner.

Among the public places identified by the Comelec are publicly owned electronic announcement boards, motor vehicles, mass public transport owned by the government, waiting sheds, sidewalks, schools, and premises of public transport terminals.

Mounting of campaign materials in public places outside of the designated common poster areas, or in private property without the consent of the owner is prohibited. 

Candidates will be issued notices to remove the illegal campaign posters within three days. Failure to remove may be a ground for an election offense and disqualification. 

Intellectual Property Rights

Meanwhile, the poll body also mandated candidates to ensure that intellectual property rights are respected in the production of their election propaganda and in the conduct of their election campaigns. Any violations of intellectual property law, rules, and regulations shall be referred to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) for appropriate action.

Political, online rally

Physical and online rallies will be allowed for Eleksyon 2025. However, the poll body said any candidate, party, or any person will be prohibited to give or accept, free of charge, directly or indirectly, transportation, food and drinks, or anything of value during and within the five hours before and after a public meeting, or to give or contribute, directly or indirectly, money or things of value for such purpose.

Any political party or any candidate, individually or jointly with other aspirants, may also hold online political rallies during the campaign period. This includes live streaming on social media platforms.

The online rally will not be covered by the limitations on broadcast advertising but are subject to the following rules:

• All e-rallies shall include a disclosure that identifies it as a political meeting or rally and provide the relevant date, time, and location.
• Candidates may receive in-platform gifts and game currency but shall not be allowed to give gifts to livestream audiences, nor to run promotions and campaigns that will award in-platform gifts or game currency to platform users and livestream audiences

Other activities

During the campaign period, the Comelec likewise banned the following activities:

• Giving donations by candidate, his or her spouse, or any relative within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, or his campaign manager, agent, or representative
• Transferring, hiring, and promotion of employees  in government offices 
• Spending ban or the release, disbursement or expenditures of public funds as well as the construction of public works, delivery of materials for public works except for projects or works exempted by the poll body.
• Selling, furnishing, offering, buying, serving, or taking of liquor, except hotels and other establishments duly certified by the Tourism Department and the Comelec on the eve of Election Day. 
• Giving or accepting free of charge, directly or indirectly, transportation, food or drinks or things of value; or giving or contributing, directly or indirectly, money or things of value for such purpose, by any candidate, political party, or organization, or any person will also be prohibited on May 11. 

—AOL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.