The DILG reminded all political candidates and their supporters that political rallies were still prohibited.
DILG — On Thursday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government reminded all political candidates in the 2022 elections and their supporters that political rallies were still prohibited.
The DILG said in a statement that special gatherings will only be allowed if permitted by the local government unit (LGU) concerned, provided that all minimum health standards were observed.
According to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, political rallies were still prohibited as it’s not yet a campaign period.
“Bawal pa po ang mga political rally. Hindi pa po campaign period,” Año said. “We have been seeing candidates, both national and local, staging political rallies here and there which gather hundreds if not thousands of people.“
Año also said that the pandemic wasn’t yet over and there’s still the threat of the Omicron variant. According to him, the Omicron variant has already reached many countries and it’s only a matter of time before it reached the country.
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He also encouraged political candidates, political parties, and their supporters to refrain from holding political rallies that may become super spreader events.
Año explained that only motorcades and caravans were given the green light because there’s physical distancing and those were usually held for a limited time.
“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,” Año said. “We are fortunate na bumababa ang kaso sa ating bansa but this is not the time to push our luck. COVID-19 is still here and we can’t be complacent.”
Earlier, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said that the official campaign period will start on February 8, 2022 for national positions and March 25, 2022 for local elective positions.
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