Campaign poster nailed to tree violates Marcos decree, not poll laws

A POSTER bearing the image of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano is nailed to a tree along S. Osmeña Road in Cebu City.

Is this premature campaigning?

Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial officer Ferdinand Gujilde said it’s not.

Election rules and Comelec guidelines on this point are only applied during the official campaign period, he said.

“For now, as far as the Comelec is concerned, this is allowed,” he told Cebu Daily News, referring to the roadside poster.

But the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reminded candidates that they can’t post materials on trees.

Under Presidential Decree 953,signed by then President Marcos in 1976, it is unlawful to damage or destroy “trees of any kind” in public roads, parks, plazas or other public areas. The penalty is 2 to 5 years imprisonment or a fine equivalent to the damage caused.

DENR-7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo said posting of campaign materials on trees is prohibited during the campaign period under a joint resolution signed by the DENR, the Comelec and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

They are to be posted in public poster areas designated by Comelec such as parks, plazas, markets and barangay halls. Or they can be mounted in private property with the owner’s consent.

Llamedo said violators can be fined P20,000 and jailed for six months or both depending on the court’s decision.

Yesterday was the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacy, which ends on Friday this week.

Permission

Even after candidates have filed, Gujilde said they only become “legitimate” candidates during the campaign period.

Valid campaign materilas are limited to cartolina-sized posters, leaflets the size of long bond paper and 3×8-meter streamers.

Gujilde said based on a Supreme Court decision, the posting of election banners and paraphernalia outside the campaign period is part of the exercise of freedom of expression.

But this activity can still be the subject of local ordinances against littering, vandalism and nuisances, among others.

The campaign period for national candidates runs from Feb. 9 to May 7 while March 25 to May 7 has been set as the campaign period for provincial and local candidates.

When asked about the tarpaulin in S. Osmeña Road, Senator Cayetano said it was posted by Cebu businessmen to convince Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run for President.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/OCT.12,2015:A poster of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Peter Allan Cayetano were placed in a tree in S Osmeña north reclamation. these practice is not illegal and falls under ‘freedom of expression” according to COMELEC (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

He thanked supporters for campaigning for him and Duterte.