Feng shui, fear of premature campaigning delay bets’ COC filing
No politician has filed a certificate of candidacy (COC) with the City Commission on Election (Comelec) as of yesterday morning. It is not because there are no aspirants but mostly because of feng shui and to avoid the risk of being charged for early campaigning which could lead to disqualification.
As of Sunday morning, no local candidate filed their COC in the 15 elective positions up for grabs in the May 2010 elections. The filing of COC began November 20 and will end on midnight of December 1.
Comelec offices are accepting COCs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but will be extended up to midnight on the last day December 1. In the city, candidates have to vie for the positions of congressman, mayor, vice mayor and 12 councilors.
City Comelec election assistant 2 Jonathan Sayno said they are expecting most of the candidates to file their COCs from November 28 until December 1. Some candidates file their COC based on their lucky day as recommended by feng shui experts, Sayno observed.
Sayno said politicians believe their luck starts on the 28th day of this month.
City Comelec officer-in-charge G-Bert Arbis said there are also politicians who opt to file their COC on the last day to circumvent any complaint of premature campaigning which is in violation of the Omnibus Election Code.
Once a candidate has filed his or her COC, he or she is already considered an official candidate for the May 2010 elections, thus have to wait for the start of the campaign period on March 26, 2010 where they could begin campaigning. Politicians seeking elective positions both in the national and local level have their infomercials and block time radio programs.
The Supreme Court decision on the Penera versus Comelec case and the recent approval on third and final reading of House Bill 6926, a bill amending Batas Pambansa Blg., 881 otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code, has created several legal questions.
The Comelec national office has sought the legal opinion of the High Court regarding the Penera case and HB 6926, a bill pertaining to election campaign and partisan political activity outside the campaign period.
In the Penera case, the petitioner was then a candidate for mayor of Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte was found guilty of violating the Election Code when she went around on a motorcade after filing her COC.
Arbis said they have to ask the candidates to remove all their campaign materials posted in the different parts of the city as soon as the period for the filing of COC ends.
