President Duterte reminded the COMELEC to give “space” for election campaigns amidst the pandemic.
President Rodrigo Duterte reminded the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Tuesday to give “space” for election campaigns amidst the pandemic.
President Duterte said in his late-night taped public address that the poll body should come up with better regulations for the upcoming campaign season for the 2022 elections.
The official campaign season for the May 2022 elections will start in February 2022.
“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,” Duterte said.
President Duterte admitted that the pandemic will be a problem for the COMELEC because it has to decide whether it will allow candidates to assemble in large gatherings.
According to the President, political candidates “cannot campaign by just shouting at one corner”.
READ ALSO: Sara Duterte To Announce Political Plans For 2022 Before November 15 — Salceda
The poll body initially wanted to allow only 3 political candidates per event and only 10% of the venue’s capacity. They also said that minors and those over 65 years old can’t attend political rallies and that there shouldn’t be food and beverages served in the event.
In-person attendees will also be required to wear face shield and a face mask at all times and observe social distancing.
“You have to have a place where maybe they would limit the attendance or the number of people there,” Duterte said, citing that some political candidates will not be able to afford the expenses of television ads.
The COMELEC 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 (LGUs).
However, some politicians said that it will be impossible to control the crowd especially if big celebrity endorsers will attend the event.
The poll body added that it will study possibly increasing the number of people allowed during in-person campaign events.
For more news and updates, you may feel free to visit this site more often. You may also visit Newspapers.ph via our official Facebook page and YouTube channel.