Comelec to file election offense vs Bacolod diocese today

MANILA, Philippines - Unless stopped by the Supreme Court (SC), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is poised to file today an election offense case against those behind the Team Buhay (Life) and Team Patay (Death) tarpaulin at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City.

The tarpaulin listed the names of senatorial candidates who voted for and against the enactment of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law.

“By (today), if the SC does not come out with a TRO (temporary restraining order) or anything, we will proceed with the process,” Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said yesterday.

The Comelec had asked the Diocese of Bacolod to remove the oversized tarpaulin, which violates the restriction on the size of campaign materials for the May 13 polls.

But instead of heeding Comelec, the diocese filed a petition for injunction and TRO with the SC.

The diocese had argued that the tarpaulin is on Church grounds and should not be covered by the Comelec’s restriction.

But the poll body insisted otherwise.

Brillantes said while the Church is considered private property, the size of the tarpaulin should still be within the limits allowed under Comelec Resolution 9615.

As a procedure, the Comelec’s law department shall initiate a motu proprio case against those behind the tarpaulin, after which a preliminary investigation will be conducted.

The department will then recommend whether or not to push through with the filing of the case before an appropriate court.

Ready to face charges

Rene Sarmiento, one of the three legal counsels of Bishop Vicente Navarra and the Diocese of Bacolod, said if the SC does not issue a TRO, they are ready to face whatever cases the Comelec will file against them.

In his petition with the SC, Navarra had said that “the Comelec order is unconstitutional, a violation of the principle of separation of Church and State, and a violation of the freedom of expression of the Church.”

Navarra argued that the billboard is covered by the broader constitutional guaranty of freedom of expression, not by election laws or rules and regulations.

Meanwhile, the highest Catholic leader in Cagayan Valley yesterday said the Church will not delve into the issue on who among the senatorial candidates supported or bucked the controversial RH measure.

“I don’t think we will zero in on it, but we prefer going into broader issues,” Tuguegarao City Archbishop Sergio Utleg told The STAR.

Utleg said his diocese will also consider issues pertaining to the candidates’ stand on various issues such as corruption, poverty, mining and political dynasty.

Bishop Joseph Nacua of the Diocese of Ilagan City in Isabela earlier aired a similar stance, saying they will allow their parishioners to decide for themselves who they will vote for regardless of the candidates’ stand on the RH measure.

Meanwhile, re-electionist Sen. Francis Escudero, who voted for the RH Law, yesterday said a candidate should not be judged based solely on his stand on the RH measure.

“What if the candidate voted against the RH bill but is corrupt? Should we vote for him?” Escudero asked during a health forum organized by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, Journalism for Nation Building Foundation and Dr. Stephen Zuellig Center for Asian Business Transformation. – With Raymund Catindig, Paolo Romero, Danny Dangcalan