Rival seeks Ate Vi's disqualification over oversized posters

The political rival of reelectionist Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto on Monday sought her disqualification over her supposedly oversized public service announcements placed all over the province. In a five-page petition, former governor Armando Sanchez's lawyer Ferdinand Topacio asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify Santos-Recto because her oversized posters clearly promote her candidacy. "Ito po ay higanteng billboard na kasing lalaki po ng mga bahay, kasing lalaki ng mga gusali at pinapalusot po nila na public service ngunit obvious na obvious po na ito ay para sa kandidatura ni Gov. Santos-Recto (These are gigantic billboards the size of houses, the size of buildings, and they say that it is for public service when it's so obvious that it is for the candidacy of Gov. Santos-Recto)," Topacio told reporters after filing the petition. And while admitting that the move was politically motivated, the lawyer said the violation still stands. "Di maikakaila na politika man o hindi, ang paglabag ng batas ay paglabag ng batas (It cannot be denied that politically motivated or not, a violation of the law is a violation of the law), it does not matter kung sinong ang nagcocomplain," Topacio said. He said Comelec rules clearly define election materials as any material which "urge voters to vote for or against any particular political party or candidate for public office." Comelec Resolution 8758 Comelec Resolution 8758, however, requires candidates to put up their advertisements on common poster areas such as plazas, markets, and barangay centers. The resolution says posters should not exceed 2 x 3 feet while streamers should not be more than 3 x 8 feet. Violation of Resolution 8758 constitutes an election offense, which is punishable by one to six years imprisonment, disenfranchisement, and disqualification from holding public office. Earlier, Comelec Commissioner Rene Srarmiento said the Supreme Court (SC) had ruled on a similar case. He said that a complainant asked the High Court to remove materials that tend to promote the activities of a sitting governor. The SC, however, ruled in favor of the official, saying that there was nothing wrong with it because the accused was an incumbent. Aside from Topacio, the other petitioners include lawyers Gilbert Macatangay and Arth Jhun Marasigan. He added that similar petitions are bound to follow. Sanchez served as Bantangas governor from 2004 to 2007. Santos-Recto beat him for the same position in 2007. They will be facing each other again in the 2010 elections, with Santos-Recto under the Liberal Party and Sanchez under the Nacionalista Party. — RSJ, GMANews.TV