Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Saturday, Dec 4 , that they are not playing favorites in their calls and implementation of restrictions on political rallies amid the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

He issued the statement amid concerns that the DILG will not play fair because it is beholden to the allies of President Duterte.

In an interview, Año assured that the ban on rallies “applies to everyone regardless of his/her political party’’ as Duterte critics expressed doubts that opposition parties will be treated the same way as the parties or bets supporting the President.

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) stated that the official campaign period begins on February 8, 2022 for national posts and March 25, 2022 for local elective positions, including the position of members of the House of Representatives.

Despite the DILG’s pronouncement on the prohibition on the conduct of political rallies, it was not discounted that some stubborn elective post aspirants and their supporters still proceed with their erroneous campaign activities.

“Ganyan talaga. Kanya kanyang interest lalo na malapit na election (That is normal. Self interest sets in especially with the approaching election),’’ Año said.

Not to be confused with rallies, Año earlier clarified “that only caravans and motorcades were given the green light because there is physical distancing and these are usually held for a limited time only.’’

Further stressing his point, Año maintained that motorcades and caravans are held in open areas where the possibility of the transmission of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is minimal.

On Dec. 2, Año noted that special gatherings will only be allowed if permitted by the local government unit (LGU) concerned provided that all minimum public health standards (MPHS) are observed.

"Bawal pa po ang mga political rally. Hindi pa po campaign period (Political rallies are still prohibited. It is not yet the campaign period). We have been seeing candidates, both national and local, staging political rallies here and there which gather hundreds if not thousands of people. Hindi pa po tapos ang pandemya. Parating pa ang omicron variant (The pandemic is not yet finished. The omicron variant is looming in the horizon),’’ Año explained.

During any political events, Año pointed out that the local government units (LGUs) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) “are mandated to assist in any gatherings with legal permit and they are also prepared to stop any activity which may be considered as a spreader event.’’

He reiterated that minimum public health protocols will be enforced throughout the gatherings warning that the ‘organizers will be held accountable if there would be violations.’’

While appealing for full public cooperation, Año insisted that “there is a time for everything and now is not the time to gather a huge number of people. Let’s wait for the campaign period. We are fortunate na bumababa ang kaso (COVID-19) sa ating bansa (we are fortunate that the cases have declined) but this is not the time to push our luck. COVID-19 is still here and we can’t be complacent.”

“The trouble here is with the low number of COVID-19 cases, many have become complacent. Ipinapaalala natin sa mga kandidato at LGU, bawal pa ang mga political rallies (We remind the candidates and the LGU that political rallies are still not allowed),’’ Año added.

The DILG chief disclosed that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) alert level system guidelines invokes that “all types of gatherings of people are subject to operational capacities, compliance with MPHS and are, therefore, subject to the approval and monitoring by the LGU concerned.’’ (Chito A. Chavez)