Why candidates don’t fear Comelec

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

WE continue to see our surroundings literally vandalized by thousands of pieces of posters, particularly oversized posters and billboards. One can only wonder what the local Comelec officials feel when they see all these rampant violations of Sec. 21- 22 of the Fair Election Act (Prohibited forms of election propaganda) soon as they step out of their homes.

Do they feel inutile? Incompetent? Abused? Do they see the candidates in their minds thumbing their noses at them because the candidates know they are not in a position to enforce the law? Through the years, the most that local Comelec chiefs here can do is to go through the motion of courageously removing and tearing down the illegally placed posters for 2 days then move to other more “important” aspects of the election. It’s a fact about Comelec that candidates know too well.

Consequently, the candidates ignore them like a sack of salt in one corner of the room, refusing to give their positions any import regardless of how the law defines their authority. For too long, candidates view local Comelec officials merely as useful tools they think they can bribe to help them win or protest!

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BACK TO BASICS. But things don’t have to be this way. Our local Comelec officials can easily earn everyone’s respect if they care to. They can easily turn the tables on the irresponsible candidates by simply going back to basics – upholding Sections 21- 22 and 29 of the Fair Election Act and Section 264 of the Omnibus Election code – and taking these to heart.

Section 21 (Prohibited forms of election propaganda) is self-explanatory.

Section 22 is where the people and the Comelec officials can find the wherewithal to sock it to the irresponsible candidates. It reads “Removal, confiscation or destruction of prohibited election propaganda materials. – Any prohibited form of election propaganda materials shall be summarily confiscated, removed, destroyed or torn down by any representative of the COMELEC, at the expense of the candidate, political party, sectoral party, organization or coalition, or person responsible for the prohibited election propaganda.”

Sec. 29. Reads “Election offense. – Violation of R. A. 9006 and these rules shall constitute an election offense punishable under the first and second paragraphs of Sec. 264 of the Omnibus Election Code. Any aggrieved party may file a verified complaint for violation of these rules with the Law Department of Comelec.”

Finally, Omnibus Election Code ‘s Sec. 264 reads “Penalties. – Any person found guilty of any election offense under this Code shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years and shall not be subject to probation. In addition, the guilty party shall be sentenced to suffer disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage…. Any political party found guilty shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos, which shall be imposed upon such party after criminal action has been instituted in which their corresponding officials have been found guilty.”

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TALK TOUGH. Is the implementation easier said than done? Of course it is! Comelec has already done the first two important steps to make it work and its local officials effective.

First, they have been reshuffled to other places to protect them from undue pressure from politicians they’ve been exposed to over the years.

Second, issuance of template letters warning erring candidates of penalties is already required.

1. The first notice of violation should state: That the candidate is given 48 hours within which to remove all his/her oversized materials and other posters installed outside of designated common poster areas. (By attaching a document that quotes Sections 21-22, 29 of the Fair Election Act and Omnibus Election Code ‘s Sec. 264, the burden of proof of compliance is placed squarely on the part of the candidate).
2. The second notice of violation is sent with proofs (pictures) of unauthorized materials after 48 hours with the warning that the failure of removal within 24 hours will automatically lead to filing of formal charges.

Thirdly, Lente has already organized its Dagupan chapter to help enforce the election law in the province. The group of young volunteers with basic law background can provide the administrative support that local Comelec offices sorely lack and desperately need. I’m sure Lente’s volunteers can be efficient in preparing the letters, monitoring compliance and preparing formal complaints.

Certainly, these simple calibration of taskings can easily instill fear in the candidates, and learn to respect what the Comelec stands for. It’s what respect for tough-talking authority is about.

I find it ridiculous that the Comelec officials think they have to organize whatever limited resources they have to remove the illegal campaign materials, running after the candidates’ grubby postering boys that operate at night, when they can effectively enforce the law by just staying in their offices to oversee the sending out of notices they signed, and to be resolute in filing the cases.

But if the local Comelec chiefs officials can’t do these simple administrative tasks, then they deserve to be charged for dereliction of duty.

Like Mr. Duterte said, he with the “dirty mouth,” the optional enforcement of and compliance with the law must stop!

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PERILS OF MIX-MATCH VOTING. Perhaps by the time you read this piece, you would have already watched the third presidential debate held in Dagupan City. I have no way of predicting the outcome of the debate but I do have a suggestion to those who still can’t decide who to vote for, or worse, have decided to vote for a mix-match of candidates.

The best way to help our country move forward is to vote for the candidates running as a tandem. But to do so, it’s imperative that you have discerned the character and compatibility, experience and performance of both the presidentiable and the vice presidentiable running in tandem. We have to see beyond the images of the two waving to the crowd together. Are the two for real, or are they together for political convenience? Do they espouse a common advocacy and platform? You might ask.

I believe tandem voting is paramount because when the two candidates have agreed on a basic platform, the implementation becomes easy. Kung parehong gusto, maraming paraan! In the case of a mix-match voting, it’s not farfetched to believe that there will be disagreements from beginning to end, and implementation will be delayed if not derailed. Kung walang tiwala, maraming dahilan!

Here are some of the catastrophic mix-matches I can think of: Binay-Cayetano, Binay-Robredo, Binay-Trillanes; Duterte-Marcos, Duterte-Escudero, Duterte-Robredo, Duterte-Honasan; Poe-Robredo, Poe-Marcos, Poe-Cayetano, Poe-Honasan; Roxas-Robredo, Roxas-Marcos, Roxas-Cayetano; Santiago-Robredo, Santiago-Trillanes, Santiago-Honasan. Though they can look good together, they don’t share a single advocacy!

For instance, who shares Duterte’s vision for a federalism form of government in the country? Who believes one can make a dramatic improvement in the country’s peace and order in 6 months or 30 days? Which vice presidential candidate thinks another presidential bet other than his/her candidate is better?

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

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