Comelec issues rules on campaign advertisements

By Ryan Mostar

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has released updated guidelines on printed and published campaign materials as outlined in COMELEC Resolution No. 11086. These regulations apply to all candidates running in the upcoming elections and aim to ensure fair, lawful, and environmentally responsible campaign practices nationwide.

Section 6 of the Resolution provided lawful election propaganda which shall include:

(a) Pamphlets, leaflets, cards, decals, stickers, or other written or printed materials the size of which does not exceed eight and one-half inches (8 1/2”) in width and fourteen inches (14”) in length;

(b) Handwritten or printed letters urging voters to vote for or against any particuiar party or candidate for public office;

(c) Posters or standing displays (“standees”) made of cloth,paper, cardboard, or any, recyclable material, whether framed or posted, with an area not exceeding two (2) feet by three (3) feet

(d) Streamers not exceeding three (3) feet by eight (8) feet in size, displayed at the site, and on the occasion of a public meeting or rally. Said streamers may be displayed five (5) days before the date of flre meeting or rally and

shall be removed within twenty-four (24) hours after said meethg or rally;

(e) Mobile units, vehicles, motorcades of all types, whether engine or manpower driven or animal drawn, with or without sound

systems or loud speakers and with or without lights; Pamphlets, leaflets, cards/ decals, stickers, or other written or printed materials posted on mobile units, vehicles/ or motorcades shall be subject to the size limitations provided for in this Section;

(f) Paid advertisements in print or broadcast media subject to the requirements set forth in Section 11 hereof and the Fair Election Act;

(g) Outdoor and static or LED billboards owned by private entities or persons;

(h) Mobile or transit advertisement on public utility vehicles provided that the advertisement is consistent with the guidelines of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for commercial advertisements;

(i) Signboard displayed in the headquartels subject to the limitation provided in Section 24 hereof;

(j) All other forms of election propaganda not prohibited by the Omnibus Election Code or these rules.

Under Section 11(b) of the Resolution, the maximum size of print advertisement for each candidate, whether for a national or local elective positions, or party shall be, as follows:

1) In broadsheets – One fourth (1/4) page

2) In tabloids – One half (1/2) page

Section 18 of the Resolution also provided that during the election period, media outlets shall give registered political parties and bona fide candidates a discounted rate for their election propaganda from the average of the published rates in the last three (3) calendar years prior to election, as follows:

(a) For television - Fifty percent (50%);

(b) For radio - Forty percent (40%);

(c) For print - Ten percent (10%).

Media outfits may give discounts higher than the above-mentioned rates; provided that the discount given to one candidate shall be the same given to other candidates for the same position.

It is also reiterated that candidates are only allowed to post materials in COMELEC-designated common poster areas or on private property with the owner’s consent. The posting of campaign materials on public infrastructure are prohibited.

Under Section 8(f), public places include any of the following:

(1) Publicly-owned electronic announcement boards, such as LED display boards located along highways and streets, LCD monitors posted on walls of public buildings, and other similar devices which are owned by local government units, government-owned and controlled corporation, or any agency or instrumentality of the Government;

(2) Motor vehicles used as patrol cars, ambulances, and for other similar purposes that are owned by local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations, and other agencies and instrumentalities of the Government, particularly those bearing government License plates;

(3) Public transport vehicles owned and controlled by the government such as the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), and Philippine National Railway trains and the like;

(4) Waiting sheds, sidewalks, street and lamp posts, electric posts and wires, traffic signage and other signboards erected on public property, pedestrian overpasses and underpasses, flyovers and underpasses, bridges, main thoroughfares, center island of roads and highways;

(5) Schools, public shrines, barangay halls, government offices, health centers, public structures and buildings or any edifice thereof; and

(6) Within the premises of public transport terminals, owned and controlled by the government, such as bus terminals, airports, seaports, docks, piers, train stations and the like.

COMELEC, in coordination with local election officers, law enforcement agencies, and local government units, will actively monitor compliance with these guidelines. Section 26 provides that any prohibited form of election propaganda shall be stopped, confiscated, removed, or taken down by COMELEC representatives, at the expense of the candidate or political party for whose apparent benefit the prohibited election propaganda materials have been produced, displayed, and disseminated.

With these regulations in effect, COMELEC aims to promote a clean, fair, and law-abiding election period across the country.