President Duterte on Tuesday, November 9, said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should come up with better regulations for the upcoming campaign season for the 2022 polls.

The official campaign season for the May elections will begin in February next year.

“I'd like to remind the Comelec that you must give the candidates really the space and the whatever modality there, because there can never be an election without a campaign,” the President said in his late-night taped public address.

The Chief Executive admitted that the pandemic will be a problem for the poll body because it has to decide whether it will allow candidates to assemble in large gatherings.

READ: 'Major changes' seen in 2022 campaign, says Comelec

Duterte said candidates “cannot campaign by just shouting at one corner.”

“You have to have a place where maybe they would limit the attendance or the number of people there,” he added, citing that some candidates will not be able to afford the expenses of television ads.

Comelec initially wanted to allow only three candidates per event and only 10 percent of the venue’s capacity. They also said that minors and those over 65 years old cannot attend political rallies and that there shouldn’t be food and beverages served in the event.

In-person attendees will be required to wear a face mask and face shield at all times and observe social distancing.

READ: Comelec to regulate number of people in in-person campaigns

The poll body also stressed the importance of following all other relevant protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Department of Health (DOH), and local government units.

But some politicians said it will be impossible to control the crowd especially if big celebrity endorsers will attend the event.

Comelec said it will study possibly increasing the number of people allowed during face-to-face campaign events.