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Comelec mulls imposing fines on bets over illegal campaign materials


Aside from possible disqualification, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official on Monday said the poll body is thinking of imposing fines to candidates who continue to violate regulations on campaign materials. "We discussed... the taking down of campaign materials and the fees that may be imposed on the political parties in tearing down these illegally placed campaign materials," Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters in an interview.
Larrazabal said they are thinking of charging a candidate P1 for every oversized or illegally-placed poster that was not taken down even after the warning and three-day grace period given by the poll body. "If they don't take it down, we'll take it down but they'll have to be charged," he said. Resolution 8758 requires candidates to put up their advertisements on common poster areas like plazas, markets, and barangay centers. Party-list groups and political parties are only allowed to construct 12 x 16 feet poster areas while independent candidates may only erect 4 x 6 feet poster areas or its equivalent. Aside from this, the resolution also requires that posters should not exceed 2 x 3 feet while streamers should not be more than 3 x 8 feet. If the proposal is approved, Larrazabal said that it would be the first time that they impose a fine for illegal campaign materials. He said that they have already asked the Comelec Education and Information Department (EID) and the Law Department to submit proposal within three days about the matter. Just last week, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said six presidential candidates may face disqualification after their campaign materials have reportedly exceeded size limits and were allegedly posted in areas where these are disallowed. [See: Oversized posters may ban six bets from presidential contest] Jimenez identified the candidates as Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III (Liberal Party), former president Joseph M. Ejercito Estrada (Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino-UNO), Sen. Richard J. Gordon (Bagumbayan), Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), evangelist Eddie C. Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas), and Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party). — Kimberly Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV

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