Comelec to regulate number of people in in-person campaigns
With the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will regulate the number of people who can participate in in-person campaigns in the May 2022 polls.
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez revealed this in a television interview on Thursday, Oct. 28.
"It's likely going to be determined in large part by the Alert Level in a particular place," he said.
"We are going to systematize that so that we have rules to apply all over the country that will define how many people can be in an in- person campaigning entourage at any given place," added Jimenez.
On Tuesday, the poll official already said that there will be "major changes" in the conduct or campaign for next year's polls.
"I guess a lot of people will be in for some scrambling in terms of modifying how dey conduct their campaign because there will be some major changes," Jimenez said.
He, however, did not reveal said changes.
Jimenez said the public should just wait for the campaign guidelines which is expected to be released this month.
Last May, the poll official said he believes there will still be face-to-face campaigning in the May 2022 polls but with limitations due to the pandemic.
Jimenez said they believe it will not be totally prohibited as many have no access to different methods of information delivery.
"What we will surely have are restrictions on ways to campaigning. If before, for example, there is no limit on handshaking, now there will surely be limits," he said that time.