Candidates for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) must be aware of acts that fall under premature campaigning, the regional election officer warned on Monday. Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, regional director of the Commission on Elections-Central Visayas, issued the warning following reports that some of the candidates who filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2 are already doing house-to-house visitations. ‘Their acts may constitute an election offense that carries a penalty of one to six years imprisonment and/or disqualification,’ Castillano told the Philippine News Agency (PNA). Over the weekend, some candidates in Cebu also held motorcades and foot parades along with their supporters. Castillano echoed the statement of Comelec chair George Garcia during the 1st Regional Coordinating Conference with the officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in Cotabato City. Garcia said when posters of an aspirant for the BSKE who has already filed his COC are displayed, even in a private place, it is considered premature campaigning. In Central Visayas, a total of 102,284 aspirants filed their COCs for the Oct. 30 BSKE in four provinces in the region. Cebu province recorded 43,804 aspirants while Bohol got 34,995, followed by Negros Oriental and Siquijor with 19,289 and 4,196, respectively. There were 6,611 individuals vying for punong barangay (village chair) while 52,260 want to be elected as members of the 3,003-strong Sangguniang Barangay (village council). A total of 6,559 young individuals filed their COCs for chairperson of their Sangguniang Kabataan and 36,954 joined the fray for members of SK. SK officials should be aged at least 18 and not more than 24 by election day while their voters must be aged at least 15 and not more than
Source: Philippines News Agency