EVEN if campaign rules are still not in effect, the Commission on Elections has warned aspiring candidates in the 2022 polls they could still be held accountable for violating minimum health standards during the pandemic, as it noted recent events of aspirants that drew huge crowds. This means, he said, it’s the local governments and health authorities, not Comelec, that can move against them.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez explained they currently have no jurisdiction over ongoing “campaigning activities” until the official start of the election campaign.
However, he noted in a press briefing, other authorized agencies could go after aspirants deemed to endanger the lives of their supporters.
“The [minimum health standards] is not exclusive to Comelec or during the elections. Those are common sense requirements by the law, which is being implemented by the IATF and the police,” he added.
“Right now, they are still not covered by election laws. They are not covered by campaign rules so Comelec will not move against you. [But] we hope the relevant authorities will—not us,” Jimenez said.
The issue of to what extent 2022 aspirants can organize events that may later turn out to be super spreaders for Covid-19—such as rallies or caravans—was recently raised after certain aspirants drew big crowds in some events.
Apparently the biggest of such crowd draws was the caravan organized in Quezon City on Wednesday by Rep. Mike Defensor’s group on behalf of the Bongbong-Sara UniTeam of former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, running mates under two different parties, Partido Federal and Lakas, respectively. The Marcos camp estimated the crowds to be in the “hundreds of thousands,” and Marcos chief of staff Atty. Vic Rodriguez apologized to those inconvenienced by the traffic jams.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao, who has been observed to draw crowds in recent events, said earlier, “hindi naman puedeng ipagbawal ang pag handshake [shaking of hands can’t be prohibited]” in reply to critics who noted him wading into crowds.
Under its campaign rules, Comelec imposed restrictions on the number of people who could accompany candidates during onsite election activities to ensure social distancing will be strictly implemented. The rule, however, will only take effect during the campaign period starting February 2022.
Comelec issued the statement after some aspirants apparently started their election campaign and drew large crowds, wherein social distancing is not practiced, in the process.
Jimenez admonished candidates seen to be disregarding Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) rules to consider the risk of Covid-19 infection to their supporters.
“Just so you can get crowds and photo ops, you are endangering the lives of Filipinos who believe in you. Please think twice about doing that,” Jimenez said.