MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday reminded aspirants for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) that premature campaigning is prohibited from July 8 to October 18, as it warned that violators will face stiff sanctions.
"We will charge you and will surely disqualify you since you have already filed your Certificate of Candidacy (COC) and is engaging in premature campaigning, which is prohibited," Comelec chairman George Garcia said in an interview with reporters.
"Once you file your COC, you are already considered as a candidate. Therefore, we will apply the full force of the law, Section 18 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC). You cannot go around, campaign, distribute things since you are already a candidate," he added.
The four-day filing period has been set from July 3 to 7, 2023.
Garcia noted that setting the filing of the COC early will allow the poll body to hold liable those who will engage in illegal campaigning.
"This would be better as they have already filed their COC and are considered as candidates. Therefore, we can already file cases against them. We will disqualify you and file election offense cases against you," the Comelec chief said.
Earlier, the Comelec also set the campaign period for the Oct. 30 polls from Oct. 19 to 28, while the election period will be from July 3 to Nov. 14.
Under the OEC, it is unlawful to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity except during the campaign period. (PNA)
