CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Elections Central Visayas (Comelec-7) has called on all the electoral aspirants here to not use their power as an excuse in using government property for their campaign.
This was in response to the photos received by the members of the media recently where a truck owned by a Cebu City barangay was seen being used in transporting campaign materials for the KUSUG-Panaghiusa coalition last week.
“We at the Comelec, considering that they (aspirants) already filed their certificate of candidacy, we really advocate and we discourage that let us not use our office, let us not use our power to scrupulously maneuver or make beneficial advantages at the expense of the government and at the expense of others,” said Comelec-7 Director Francisco Pobe in a phone interview on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Pobe also reminded the aspirants that if they are to run for public office, their “intention is to serve.”
“When you’re going to serve, you must have to portray to the public that you are a role model and an example,” he said.
He added that the voters should pay attention to events like this and must call the attention of the aspirants, because they had to be reminded that they had a specific period of time for them to campaign.
Cebu City mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who is running for city mayor under KUSUG-Panaghiusa, told reporters on Monday that he was not aware of how it happened, but he would leave it to the barangay to do their investigation since the vehicle was not owned by the city government.
ALSO READ:
After COC filing, when do you we call them ‘candidates’?
Cagayan de Oro House aspirant faces Comelec disqualification case
Garcia said that barangay vehicles just, like City Hall vehicles, could not be used for private purposes.
“It always must be for a public purpose. We always discourage it and I think there should be a clear delineation whether that vehicle is being rented or not. Even if it will be rented, mohangyo na lang ta sa mga barangay nga even nga kung giabangan na, ayaw na lang na pagamita (we will just request the barangay not to allow the use even if it is rented, just don’t let them use it) for political purposes because it will always be misconstrued,” he added.
The Comelec, however, did not have any sanctions for cases like this, Pobe said.
Covered by DILG
He said that it was covered by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) since they were the agency who supervised and oversaw the activities of the local government officials.
Pobe added that since the election period had yet to start on January 12, the Comelec did not yet have any sanctions on the coverage of election limitations and prohibitions under the Omnibus Election Code.
“The local government unit should be responsible. If the local government unit violates, then this will also be another option on the part of any interested party to file a necessary complaint against those government officials or any private persons using government vehicles in the interest of their own private or personal use,” Pobe said.
CDN Digital already reached out to DILG-7 and Cebu City for their comment on the issue but they have yet to give their response as of this writing.
When prohibitions will start
The Comelec’s prohibitions, Pobe said, would take effect only at the start of the campaign for local positions on March 28, and on February 11 for the national level. The campaign period ends on May 10.
Under the Omnibus Election Code Section 261 (o), use of public funds and government vehicles are prohibited and those found guilty will be penalized as stated in Section 264.
Aside from the Election Code, Administrative Order 239 of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also prohibits the use of government vehicles for purposes other than official business.
Public officials who violate regulations, especially those who do not have trip tickets, may be held accountable under several laws, including RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees), the Revised Administrative Code of the Philippines, COA circulars, the Government Accounting and Auditing Manual, and other related executive issuances. – with a report from Cebu Daily News (newspaper) published in 2016