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Are you a candidate after filing a Certificate of Candidacy (COC)? If yes, then posting banners, tarpaulins or any add in the major roads of the Philippines allowed or not?


       This topic is one of the most controversial issues nowadays since the 2022 national election is fast approaching. Now, let us talk about this issue and consult the court jurisprudence on whether a person who filed a certificate of candidacy to the COMELEC is deemed a candidate.

        Who is a candidate? 

        Section 79 (a) of the Omnibus Election Code defines a candidate as any person aspiring for or seeking an elective public office, who has filed a certificate of candidacy xxx.

        Section 79 of the Omnibus Election Code has been explained and further details have been provided by Congress, by enacting RA 8436 under Section 15, and later it was amended by Section 13 of RA 9369. Whereas, this law provides that any person who files his certificate of candidacy within the period for filing shall only be considered as a candidate at the start of the campaign period for which he filed his certificate of candidacy. 

        The law is very clear, a person can only be considered a candidate upon commencement of the campaign period.

    Further, the immediately succeeding proviso in the same third paragraph states that unlawful acts or omissions applicable to a candidate shall take effect only upon the start of the aforesaid campaign period. 

        Hence, posting banners, tarpaulins, or any add in the major roads of the Philippines is still valid unless the campaign period commences. The posting of the same cannot be considered as premature campaigning in violation of our election law. 

    The high court explained that a person is liable for an election offense only for acts done during the campaign period, not before. The law is clear - any election offense that may be committed by a candidate under any election cannot be committed before the start of the campaign period.

    In sum, before the start of the campaign period, the same political acts are lawful.

(Penera vs. COMELEC, GR No. 181613, November 25, 2009)

 

    

    


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