BINAY AGAIN AT THE ANABEL’S FORUM We could not help but discuss the controversial issues hounding Vice President Jejomar Binay at the regular Saturday Forum at Anabel’s in Quezon City. After Comelec James Jimenez gave an update about the Comelec situation, including the planned automated electoral system in 2016, and Makabayan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon explained his proposed congressional probe of Hillmarc Construction, the topic shifted to the country’s second highest political leader. I asked Jimenez, who was sporting the avant garde tomahawk haircut, to explain the specific law that governs what is described as premature political campaign. Jimenez he told the forum that although the law has specific provisions about premature campaigning, a Supreme Court decision (Penera vs. Comelec) has virtually amended the law on premature campaign. Jimenez was correct. Comelec has acknowledged the SC decision. It has taken the view that no law exists against premature campaigning. In brief, Binay’s provincial sorties should not be taken as premature campaigning because of the virtual rescission of the law on premature campaigning. Please see the Phil. Star news report below. During the forum, I asked Ridon why the Makabayan bloc was quiet on the controversies hounding Binay. Ridon denied that Makabayan was in favor of Binay. He said that the Makabayan bloc has taken the stand that Binay should appear in all available forum – be it the Senate, public debates, media or whatever – to explain his side of the issues. Unless he gives his side in the appropriate forum, the Makabayan bloc believes that controversy would continue to hound him. Ridon further explained that the Makabayan’s stand on Binay was “overshadowed” and “drown” by the statements of the noisiest senators on those issues – Sonny Trillanes and Alan Peter Cayetano. But Makabayan was not remiss in taking a stand on the issue. As a followup question, I questioned Ridon about the claim of its main rival, Akbayan, that Makabayan had entered into a tactical alliance with Binay only to see the folly of that alliance when two weeks after their alleged modus vivendi, the corruption charges against Binay blew out of proportion. Of course, Ridon denied that such tactical alliance exists. He also denied that Makabayan was ever invited to any of the forums initiated by the Binay camp. In brief, no modus vivendi exists between the two camps. End of the discussions. Comelec sees no violation Philippine Star, January 17, 2013 MANILA, Philippines - There is no more rule against early campaigning, so Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes sees nothing wrong with President Aquino’s provincial tour accompanied by candidates of the ruling Liberal Party (LP). What the Comelec is trying to monitor is campaigning using the Internet, Brillantes said yesterday. “There’s no premature campaigning,” he said. “That’s OK. UNA (United Nationalist Alliance) is also doing that. You can see their faces coming out on TV one by one. What can we do about that?” The Supreme Court struck down prohibitions on “premature campaigning” in the Penera vs Comelec case in 2009, he added. The campaign period has not started so no one among those seeking elective posts is officially a candidate, Brillantes said. Meanwhile, the Comelec will monitor illegal campaigning on the Internet, including micro-blogging and social networking on Twitter and Facebook. In Resolution No. 9615, the Comelec had included “online election propaganda” in the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9006, the Fair Elections Act. Brillantes said it is about time that election propaganda in cyberspace is regulated, since it is becoming a tool for candidates to woo voters. Brillantes said unless one is a civil servant, general and personal opinions expressed in blogs, Twitter and Facebook are not considered acts of election campaigning or partisan political activity. “That is freedom of expression,” he said. “But if (you are) in civil service, there might be an issue... (for) private citizens, that’s OK, unless we notice that candidates are using them. We can see if there is a pattern so we will investigate if we see a pattern.” Brillantes said it would be up to the Comelec to investigate the link between online propaganda and candidates. “It’s exactly the same analogy in posters. They would say they had nothing to do with it. So what do you do? It’s just a matter of investigation,” he said. The Comelec resolution had set a “maximum size for online propaganda for each candidate, whether for national or local election position or party.” “Said online advertisement, whether procured by purchase, or given free of charge, shall not be published more than three times a week per website during the campaign period,” the resolution said. “For this purpose, the exhibition or display of the online advertisement for any length of time, regardless of frequency, within a 24-hour period, shall be construed as one instance of publication.” Brillantes could not say how the Comelec would compute campaign expenses through Twitter and Facebook. “This is new,” he said. “My own proposal is we start implementing this with our resolution already out and then we observe. It is our resolution, which means we can always amend or supplement it as we move on. Let’s see. Maybe we can come out with a supplemental or amendatory resolution,” he said. Under the resolution, the Comelec will also impose stricter rules on the airtime limit allowed for the political propaganda of each candidate and party on television and radio. It showed that the number of limits allowed for each bet should be counted in total and not per radio and television station as in previous elections. The Comelec said for a national candidate, the advertisement should not exceed a total of 120 minutes for TV and 180 minutes for radio. For local candidates, it should be 60 and 90 minutes, respectively. The rules for “tandem ads” or those featuring a party-list group and a candidate were also amended. “Tandem ads or joint ads (multiple candidates in one ad) will be charged to airtime of each candidate,” Brillantes said. The appearances and guestings on bona fide interviews, newscasts, interviews, and documentaries that can be considered incidental to the presentation of the subjects covered by the news will not be considered election propaganda.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 06:53:34 +0000