Much ado over taho/ Illegal campaigning

 BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY – Cops under this administration are getting pampered by the day it is no wonder a lot of fresh college graduates are applying with the Philippine National Police.   After getting hefty pay hikes and benefits, PNP personnel  are getting promoted even over trivial matters, according to netizens.

Take this case of a police officer who was drenched in taho (soybean curd drink) after a Chinese woman threw her cup at him in Manila.

All in the line of duty, the PNP said as it awarded a Medalya ng Papuri commendation medal Tuesday at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

PNP Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde and former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go awarded the medal to PO1 William Cristobal, radio station RMN reported.

The Medalya ng Papuri is awarded to PNP members who demonstrated exemplary efficiency, devotion, and loyalty to their duty assignments.

Albayalde also commended Cristobal for his patience despite being humiliated by 23-year-old Jiale Zhang who now faces assault charges.

Cristobal also filed complaints of direct assault, disobedience to an agent of a person in authority, and unjust vexation against Zhang at the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, ABS-CBN News reported.

Zhang, a freshman Bachelor of Fashion student at the School of Fashion and Arts (SoFA) Design Institute in Makati, threw a cup of taho at Cristobal after she was barred from entering the train at the MRT Boni Station in Mandaluyong City morning of Feb. 9.

She was stopped from entering because of the new liquid ban on Metro Manila trains. Train lines have banned commuters from bringing bottled drinks and other liquids to their stations after the recent bombings in Mindanao. Bottled liquids are banned as they can be used as “liquid bombs.”

Reports said she threw the taho while Cristobal explained the new security policy. She was detained after the incident.

The incident has gone viral and many have called for Zhang to get deported. Metro Manila cops are also asking help from the Bureau of Immigration to have the Chinese national deported, Rappler added.

Vice President Leni Robredo reacted to the incident on her weekly radio show saying that it is not only an insult towards the police but also towards the Philippines and its citizens, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

While many fumed over the incident, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. remains chill about it.

He said on his Twitter the incident was a “non-issue” and that “it can happen anywhere to anyone in any country.” Taho anyone?

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The Commission on Elections reminded candidates to remove illegal campaign materials before the official campaign period started last week, but then, the hard-headed ones refused to do so.

The Ilocanos call it tangken ulo. The campaign period for national candidates started on Feb. 12. It is March 29 for candidates for local positions.

The poll body said that since campaign period began for national candidates started, all campaign posters and tarpaulins should follow the proper size of 2 feet by 3 feet and should be placed in common poster areas designated by the agency.

Otherwise, concerned candidates will be charged of election offense and will be penalized under the Omnibus Election Code.

The Comelec began conducting its “Oplan Baklas” on Monday to remove all illegal campaign materials.

In an interview with Daniel Razon on UNTV’s Digital Interactive Broadcast on Tuesday, Comelec spokesperson Director James Jimenez said the poll body will be strictly monitoring campaign ads on television, radio, print and even on social media.

Jimenez reminded candidates to be careful in gracing requests for appearance as they might fall into political advertising which can be counted against them.

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Under Comelec Resolution 10488 in line with R.A. 9006 or the Fair Elections Act, candidates and registered political parties running for national elective position are given “not more than a total of 120 minutes of television advertising and 180 minutes of radio advertising.”

Candidates for local elective positions, meanwhile, are given “not more than 60 minutes of television advertising and 90 minutes of radio advertising”.

“Ang problema, nagagamit ang mga interviews, mga guesting para kunwari hindi siya ad. Kunwari interview nga siya o guest spot siya. There are cases na pwedeng ituring na parang advertising din iyon. Pangkaraniwan, ang pinakabroad na generalization natin dito is that it’s non-news,” Jimenez explained.

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Jimenez clarified that interviews for news purposes are not considered campaigning.

However, the case is different for ‘non-news’ event.

“Halimbawa, may mahalagang event na relevant naman sa kandidato, tapos na-interview siya tungkol doon, pwede kasing news event iyon. May sunog sa area niya, i-interview siya, hindi magiging isyu iyon,” he said.

“Pero kapag halimbawa niyaya siya sa isang variety show, that’s not a news event. Ituturing iyon na broadcast advertising. So iyong time na inilagi niya sa oras na iyon ay maaring maibawas sa kaniyang time limit,” he added.

The Comelec spokesperson also enlightened the viewers how candidates’ appearances on television would fall to voters’ education and not an election offense.

Such is the case with UNTV’s invitation of election hopefuls in its program Get It Straight with Daniel Razon – a current affairs-talk show-reality show which provides a platform for controversial personalities such as election candidates to discuss relevant issues concerning them.

“The fact na iniimbita mo lahat, that means parang voter education iyan. That’s how I understand your goal to be. For the most part, hindi iyan maka-count,” Director Jimenez explained as he talked to Razon via Facetime.

“Ang nagkakaproblema lamang ay ang mga gumagawa niyan at ang iniimbita lamang ay ang mga kandidatong gusto lang nila. Nagkakaroon sila ng pagpili kung sino ang iimbitahan nila, sino ang kakausapin nila, iyon medyo malabo iyon. Kapag iniimbita naman lahat, it doesn’t really matter kung di dumarating lahat. Ang importante, inimbita lahat,” he clarified.

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 Prior to the start of official campaign, the poll body reminded all national candidates to take down campaign materials especially those hoisted or posted in unauthorized locations or non-common poster areas.

The poll body clarified, however, that ‘Oplan Baklas’ at this point covers only national candidates because the campaign period for local candidates will begin on March 29.

The Comelec spokesperson said sanctions will be given to national candidates who will not heed the poll body’s policy of taking down illegal campaign materials.

“Kung national candidate yan, i-do-document natin. After three days, kung andyan pa, li-litratuhan natin to make sure na alam natin. We will document the materials that are still in place and then doon natin sila ngayon pepenahan . After that, once we are able to document, puwede na nating baklasin,” he said.