Peñera Doctrine in effect again in 2025 elections
THE Peñera Doctrine, which was in force during the last Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), will be applied in the 2025 midterm polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
The doctrine, which involves premature campaigning, stems from the Supreme Court ruling on the Peñera v. Comelec case.
In 2010, the court reversed the Comelec decision, which disqualified Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte Mayor Rosalinda Peñera as a candidate in the 2007 local elections for violating Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code on premature campaigning.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIASection 80 makes it «unlawful for any person, whether or not a voter or candidate… to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity, except during the campaign period.»
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said abiding by the landmark ruling would render the Comelec helpless against premature campaigning during the period covering the filing of the certificate of candidacy (CoC) in October until the start of the campaign season in 2025.
Garcia said the commission en banc voided the Supreme Court ruling in the recent village and youth polls after concluding that it was only applicable to automated elections, not the BSKE, which was manually done.
Advertisement«But the 2025 elections are automated. We have no choice but to respect the decision of the Court,» he said.
Under the Peñera Doctrine, a person only becomes an official candidate at the start of the campaign period, which is 90 days for a national candidate and 45 days for a local one.
«The power of Comelec only comes in at the start of the election period, which is 120 days before the scheduled polls,» Garcia pointed out, adding that from October to the early part of January 2025, «Comelec is inutile and powerless.»
He pointed out that during that period, Comelec cannot file cases or remove illegal campaign materials because those who have filed their CoCs are not yet considered candidates.
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