By Liezelle Soriano
MANILA — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson Atty. John Rex Laudiangco said on Saturday (03 August 2024) that there is no violation yet for those possible political candidates who already have their tarpaulins posted in public places.
Among the reasons is those individuals are not yet considered political candidates as the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the 2025 midterm elections has not yet started.
“Wala pa po sa ngayon sa pagitan ng ating batas pang halalan. Una sa lahat po, hindi pa sila kandidato at wala pa pong nagfa-file ng COC and in fact po ikalawang bagay, may filing of COC tayo ng October 1 to 8 pero kahit mag-file po sila ng COC…ang sabing Republic Act 9369…hindi pa rin sila kandidato kahit may COC sila,” he explained.
“Magiging kandidato lamang sila at lahat ng ipinagbabawal ay ilalapat sa kanila sa unang araw ng pangangampanya,” the Comelec spokesperson added.
This was the response of Laudiangco when asked if there is a violation for these individuals who already have their tarpaulins in public places.
Laudiangco stressed that under the law and jurisprudence, there would be no “premature campaigning.”
The campaign for national candidates will begin on February 2025 while for local, it will start on March 2025.
(ia/mnm)