SC stops election body from taking down big posters

THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday stopped the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from dismantling oversized campaign posters inside private property.

The tribunal gave the election body 10 days to comment on a lawsuit filed by supporters of Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo and a college in Roxas City, its Public Information Office said in a statement.

The plaintiffs said they were owners of tarpaulins, posters, murals and other election materials displayed in their private properties that law enforcers had removed.

Comelec has issued an order for law enforcers to take down oversized campaign materials even inside private property, which legal experts said is equivalent to warrantless seizure.

Civic groups and former Comelec officials have criticized the Comelec order, which provides that election posters even on private property must not be bigger than six square feet.

Candidates are also barred from shaking hands, hugging, kissing, going arm-in-arm and having selfies taken with political supporters as part of health protocols amid a coronavirus pandemic. — John Victor D. Ordoñez