ARGUING that guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) were enough to enforce minimum health protocols in election-related activities, Gabriela party-list representative Arlene Brosas is asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to reconsider requiring candidates to get permits for in-person campaigns and motorcade.
In an appeal to the poll body, Brosas pointed out that in regulating campaign activities through stringent policies and requirements that are assumed to maintain safety and avoid other health concerns, it could be construed that these measures could infringe in some rights and privileges embodied in the Constitution.
“In seeking to regulate campaign activities, Comelec is dangerously treading on regulations of free speech and free assembly, which occupy a preferred spot in the hierarchy of civil liberties,” the party-list solon noted.
She added that the “IATF guidelines are already in place to ensure mobility restrictions and health protocols” even as she expressed belief that the government’s current pandemic guidelines should suffice to ensure the safety of everyone.
“We think these are enough. There is no need for campaign permits system,” Brosas stressed.
metrosundaily
