Comelec issues 716 show cause orders for illegal campaigning

OPERATION BAKLAS. Commission on Elections Chairperson George Erwin Garcia (center) leads “Operation Baklas” (dismantling) of illegal campaign materials of Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections candidates in Maricaban, Pasay City on Tuesday (Oct. 24, 2023). The common violations are hanging the campaign posters on electric posts, trees and wires; sizes bigger than the required sizes; and placing campaign materials outside common poster areas. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported Monday night the issuance of show cause orders against 716 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) candidates for illegal campaigning.

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said this involves 375 newly issued show cause orders from Task Force Anti-Epal, with around 76 answers received from poll bets.

Illegal campaigning includes violation of the standard size of posters, tarpaulins, and other campaign paraphernalia set at two by three feet, and the posting of materials in illegal spaces not included in common poster areas like trees, electric wires, and electric posts, among others.

The Comelec Task Force, meanwhile, filed a total of 181 disqualification petitions against candidates for premature campaigning.

Overall, the poll body has issued 7,103 show cause orders nationwide for the alleged early campaigning following complaints from the public.

Of the figure, 4,038 answers from candidates were received while 868 complaints were dropped due to lack of factual basis.

Despite these, Garcia earlier said that most of the candidates for this year’s election period are adherent to election rules against premature and illegal campaigning.

Offensive campaign jingle

Meanwhile, a village chief aspirant in Barangay Bucot, Aliaga town in Nueva Ecija has taken down his campaign jingle on social media after the poll body warned against offensive and gender-insensitive materials.

In a letter dated Oct. 23, Jose “Pepe” Pacheco expressed his apologies for using the “Pepe Mo, Pepe Ko (Your Pepe, my Pepe)” campaign jingle for his electoral campaign.

‘Pepe’ is a colloquial word referring to a woman’s sex organ.

“Reference to your phone call warning the undersigned regarding the election campaign song promoting my candidacy in our Barangay, it is with full regret that the song was written and produced not in accordance to the suggested standard of the Honorable Commission on Election,” he said.

The said jingle was reused and modified for this year’s campaign period, following its first posting last 2018 village polls, with the theme and tune of the Japanese anime “Voltes V.”

“I’m awfully sorry for this behavior, rest assured that these materials would never be used anymore in any of my campaign activities until the end of the prescribed campaign period,” Pacheco added.

On Sunday, Garcia called out the jingle for its offensive lyrics.

“Karapatan niyo po iyan kasama iyan sa freedom of expression pero sana irespeto po natin iyong gender sensitivity. Hindi po kinakailangan na maging katatawanan ang isang tao, o katangian, o kasarian, o relihiyon (That is your right and that is include in freedom of expression but let us respect gender sensitivity. A person’s trait, gender or religion should not be a laughing matter),” he said.

Garcia also called on candidates to refrain from playing loud jingles that disrupt people who are sleeping or resting.

Under election rules, all gender-insensitive, discriminatory, offensive, or obscene campaign materials shall be considered violations.