By Analou De Vera
A Comelec (Commission on Elections) official said the incumbent village officials will not retain their posts in case there will be a failure of election in certain communities.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
"If there is failure of elections in some barangays, the Comelec Commission en banc has decided there will be no hold over of incumbent officials," Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said.
"We will request the President or DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) to appoint new barangay officials in those barangays," Guanzon added.
Meanwhile, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez encouraged the public to immediately report to the poll body regarding any campaign violations.
“Ini-encourage natin ang publiko na mag-report sa atin, at kapag nakatanggap kami ng report, pinapapuntahan namin sa aming local officials para ma-validate kung talagang nandoon ang materials (We encourage the public to report to us and if we receive a report, we send our local officials to validate if the materials are truly there),” Jimenez said.
Jimenez also urged candidates to remove campaign materials which they think violated the election rule.
“Kung kandidato ka at may nakita kang poster mo na lumalabag sa mga patakarang ito, kusa mong baklasin. Napakaipokrito lang kasi na sasabihin mong sinasabotahe ka tapos pakikinabangan mo naman (If you are a candidate and you see a poster that violates the rules, detach it. It will be hypocrisy if you say you are being sabotaged when you’re benefiting from it),” he said.
“Lalo na kapag SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) candidate ka, di ba? Tinuringan pa namang “idealistic” ang kabataan tapos ikaw pa ang lalabag sa mga patakaran (Especially if you are an SK candidate ? The youth are expected to be idealistic and then you’re the one who will violate the rules),” Jimenez added.
The campaign period will end on May 12, Saturday, two days before the election on May 14.