Vice President Leni Robredo’s supporters at a public market in Zamboanga City. Photo courtesy of Team Leni Robredo-Zamboanga City
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 14 February) — Volunteers and supporters of presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan cried foul as the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) “Task Force Baklas” brought down tarpaulins and signboards mounted within private properties owned by the volunteers.
In a demand letter dated February 11, the volunteers, who include six lawyers and 14 other citizens, expressed their disagreement to election officer Stephen Roy Cañete over the tearing down of their candidates’ election materials placed on private properties.
“We are lawyers who are volunteering our services in our personal capacity because we believe in Vice President Leni Robredo’s leadership, and we believe that our constitutional right to property has been violated,” said lawyer Harradier Isnani, one of the signatories to the letter.
Isnani cited that the Supreme Court, in the case of Diocese of Bacolod vs. Comelec, ruled that the poll body “has no legal basis to regulate expressions made by private citizens on their own properties.”
Besides Isnani, the other lawyers who signed the letter are Jay Pujanes, Giovanni Luistro, Manuel de Fiesta Jr., Ronick Decin and Jose Manuel Mamauag. The volunteers who conformed to the contents of the letter are Anton Mari Lim, Enrique Ebol, Jr., Michelle Cabato, Florencie Berlas, Alkene Fermo, Monabelle Delgado, Chester Hans Tolentino, Benzar Salih, Vincent Rosagaron, Jonathan Diodos, Jr., Willie James Valdez, Rogyne Ramiso, Dexter Perez and Dave Javier.
“Ang sabi ng Supreme Court, basta property mo, you can do what you want, which is, it cannot be under the regulation of the Commission on Elections without a law. Ang tanong, meron bang law? Ang law kasi ay passed by Congress. Ang sagot ay wala,” Isnani said in an interview.
Isnani stressed that a Comelec resolution is not a law.
Last February 1, Comelec Zamboanga reminded political candidates and their supporters of, among others, Section 20 of Comelec Resolution No. 10730, which “allows the posting of lawful campaign materials in private properties provided that the posting has the consent of the owner and that the applicable provisions of Section 6 (particularly the size requirement of two-by-three feet) are complied with.
Isnani asserted the local Comelec wrongly interpreted the poll body’s resolution, stressing that Comelec “cannot regulate if individuals wanted to promote candidates on their private properties.”
He said they sent yesterday the demand letter to Comelec Zamboanga asking the agency to cease and desist from removing the volunteer- funded tarpaulins and posters as they were put up inside private properties.
When asked in a separate interview about his response to the letter of Robredo’s volunteers, Cañete said he would bring the matter to the Comelec’s law department.
Cañete said the removal of the tarpaulins was done by Task Force Baklas, which is composed of the Comelec, the Philippine National Police, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office.
Veterinarian Anton Mari Lim, one of the Robredo-Pangilinan volunteers, said that the tarpaulins, including the volunteer center, are funded by the supporters and not by the candidates.
Lim, however, declined to reveal the names of volunteers who funded the tarpaulins and the operations of the volunteer center.
Volunteer Chester Hans Tolentino said that 15 tarpaulins on private properties have been removed by the task force.
Another volunteer, Yen Delgado, said their demand is for the task force to stop removing and return the campaign materials of Robredo and Pangilinan to the private property owners.
“They were erected in our private property. They (task force) infringed on our rights as private citizens (when they removed the tarpaulins),” Delgado said. (Frencie Carreon / MindaNews)
