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Senators can endorse commercial products, an election regulator said
Friday, dismissing calls for sanctions against premature campaigning
for the 2010 presidential elections.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it
was “less than noble” but within the bounds of freedom of
expression for legislators to endorse products and services,
including weight-loss and skin-whitening pills.
While the Constitution bans premature
campaigning, the senators cannot be considered presidential
candidates before they actually file their candidacy papers, it
added.
Those endorsing commercial products have
included Vice President Noli de Castro and a number of senators who
are his presumptive rivals for the presidency.
“The commission recognizes that there is a
need to quell the less-than-noble practices complained of by the
petitioner,” Commission Chairman Jose Melo said in his ruling.
“However, as the law stands, these practices
cannot be restrained or punished,” he added, urging the
petitioner, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, to instead file a bill to
punish the practice.
Santiago had asked the official election
watchdog to sanction her colleagues for premature campaigning.
-- AFP
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