Comelec building up cases against erring candidates

from Business Mirror

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23183:comelec-building-up-cases-against-erring-candidates&catid=26:nation&Itemid=63

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is building up cases against erring candidates seen to be violating Comelec restrictions on campaigning for the May 10 national and local elections, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez disclosed on Thursday.

Appearing at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum, Jimenez said the poll body, for a start, has dispatched teams to go after violators of the common poster rule. 

“Actually, we are sending off teams of people to take photographs and videos of various violation of the common poster rule,” he said. “Then we will submit these records to our law department so that our lawyers can evaluate and take legal action. We do not single out candidates,” he hastened to add.

Jimenez pointed out that the so-called common poster areas have been identified by local elections officers and a list of these places where candidates can put up their campaign posters legitimately have been provided to the bets and the local governments “so that everyone in that area would know.”

Jimenez told reporters that the poll body is also enlisting the support of concerned citizens in the case buildup by asking residents to provide the Comelec proof of campaign violations in their areas, including photographs or video recordings using cellular-phones.

He admitted that the Comelec is still “trying to fill in the gaps of the case building” against poll campaign violators, but added that the lack of manpower in the poll body is “not an obstacle.”

“It is not an insurmountable problem. Certainly, especially with the rise of cell-phone cameras, we are not the only ones monitoring this [campaign violations] anymore. The public is very aware. Magrereklamo ang publiko, tatawag lang ’yan. Before, they did not have the means to provide evidence, but now, people with cell-phone cameras can send to us,” Jimenez said. In fact we are encouraging them to send us pictures at eid@comelec.gov.ph This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can e-mail your pictures to us,” he added. B. Fernandez