Comelec urged: Let showbiz politicians work after filing

Advisory for actor-politicians out next week

MANILA - Actress Ara Mina, who intends to run in the 2010 elections, appealed to the poll body on Tuesday afternoon to allow her to continue appearing on TV after she files her certificate of candidacy this month, arguing that she can’t afford to lose her source of income way ahead of the official campaign period.

Mina submitted to the office of Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Jose Melo her appeal letter, which was also signed by 2 other TV personalities eyeing local elective posts in next year. They were Maybeline dela Cruz of the soap opera “May Tinik sa Dibdib” and Alfred Vargas, a member of the “Darna” cast.

She said the letter hopes to clarify Comelec rules on actors and actresses who will join the 2010 races.

Because of the automation of the elections, the Comelec pushed back to as early as December 1 the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacies because it needs more time to print the new type of ballots, where the names of candidates are all printed.

In past manual elections—when the ballots printed only contained blanks where voters wrote the names of candidates—the poll body accepted candidacies until right before the campaign period, which is mid-February for national candidates, and late March for local candidates.

Extended ban

With the new guidelines, the Comelec is looking into banning politicians from the entertainment industry from making any public or mass media appearances related to their work right after they file their certificates of candidacy, and not just during the official campaign period.

This would be like stretching the election ban from the official 90 days to around 165 days for national candidates, or from the official 45 days to around 120 days for local candidates.

Mina is running as councilor in the 2nd district of Quezon City, where her biological father Chuck Mathay once served as congressman.

She said that they were open to not appearing on TV during the 45 days of the campaign period, but not immediately after they had filed their candidacy since it will deprive them of their source of income.

Guidelines next week

Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that the Comelec will issue an advisory containing the guidelines for actor-politicians next week.

Though the advisory will only touch on issues raised in Mina’s letter, Larrazabal said they also hope to include guidelines for other candidates working in the mass media. Moreover, the Comelec might also include rules for candidates appearing in concerts.

“Preventing her from appearing on TV will be depriving her a means of livelihood from that period of time, so there’s something wrong there. The law states a candidate is considered a candidate only at the start of the campaign period. She can still work, she could still appear on TV,” Larrazabal said.

Mina said that she will make sure that her TV programs won’t not touch on her candidacy or be used to campaign for her.

Penera case

The poll body had thought that banning TV personalities from appearing in movies or TV shows during the campaign period would prevent them from having unfair advantage over non-showbiz politicians.

This was after the Supreme Court, by a vote of 8-7, found Mayor Rosalinda Penera of Sta. Monica, Surigao del Sur, guilty of premature campaigning when her supporters held a motorcade and distributed candies on her way to filing her certificate of candidacy for the 2007 elections.

The tribunal said the acts violated Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code which states: “It shall be unlawful for any person whether or not a voter or candidate, or any party or association of persons, to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity, except during the campaign period.”

Penera was charged with premature campaigning by losing rival Edgar Andanar. Penera, in her defense, said that she had not filed her COC at the time of the alleged violation. The SC said, however, that it is not a valid excuse because such offense can be a committed by a person who is not a candidate. (Newsbreak)

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Crisis committee won't confirm MILF's holding Sinnott

MANILA - A spokesman of the local crisis management committee (CMC) handling the kidnapping case of Father Michael Sinnott on Wednesday said they still have no concrete evidence that can conclude a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) group is holding the Irish priest captive.

"Mahirap mag-speculate at this point (It's hard to speculate at this point)," Alan June Molde, spokesman of the Zamboanga del Sur CMC, told ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda.

Molde said that what they have are police and military intelligence information that the 79-year-old Irish priest is being kept in either Lanao del Sur or Lanao del Norte province, which are both MILF bailiwicks.

"We are not 100 percent [MILF are the kidnappers]. There are intelligence reports shared by the police and the military [to the CMC]. We have information that the priest is being held in areas that are identified as camps of the MILF," he added.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno announced in a press conference on Tuesday that they have information the kidnappers are "either directly connected to or very closely associated with the MILF."

Puno said they have identified some of the kidnappers and almost all of them are identified members of the MILF's 113th Base Command headed by Aloy Al Alshree.

He said the priest is being held by Al Alshree's group within the tri-boundary of Lanao provinces and Zamboanga del Sur.

The interior secretary said that with the latest information gathered through police and military intelligence, they are now cutting off communications with the MILF with regards to the rescue efforts for the abducted priest.

He said an MILF group's involvement in the latest kidnapping in Mindanao would somehow affect the government-initiated peace talks with the separatist group. He, however, did not suggest dropping the talks.

The MILF leadership, meanwhile, denied the possible involvement of their members in the kidnapping.

Father Sinnott was abducted by 6 armed men in the Columban house in Gatas District of Pagadian City on October 11. Authorities have earlier released artist's sketches of 3 of the 6 suspects and much later, computer-generated pictures of the suspects.

Zamboanga del Sur Governor Aurora Cerilles had repeatedly pleaded to the kidnappers to release the priest as soon as possible considering his physical condition. The priest had recently undergone an open bypass operation.

In a video released by the kidnappers to the authorities, Father Sinnott read a letter where the kidnappers asked for a $2 million ransom for his release.

The letter also identified the group's leader as a certain Abu Jundal, which Puno said was only an alias.

Molde, meanwhile, maintained that the CMC could not bend to the kidnappers ransom demand.

"We stick and adhere to the policy of the government, which is the no ransom policy. Even the Columban fathers, they stick to the no ransom policy," he said.

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