Comelec to release anti-discrimination guidelines for 2025 campaign

FILE PHOTO: Commission on Elections Chairperson George Garcia. INQUIRER / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will release guidelines on anti-discriminatory campaigns for the 2025 elections, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday.

According to Garcia, some candidates from the women sector and LGBTQIA+ community experience discrimination and harassment. He also emphasized that being a public official and a voter should know no gender.

“The commission will pass an anti-discriminatory policy on campaigning because its purpose is to ensure that the LGBTQIA+ community and other sectors will receive equal treatment from the society. In the end, one ballot is equal to one Filipino,” Garcia said in a press briefing of the signing of memorandum of understanding (MOU) of the Comelec and the Philippine Anti-Discrimination Alliance of Youth Leaders.

Garcia shared an example where an aspirant in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan 2023 elections made a jingle campaign with a “double meaning.”

READ: Comelec amends rule on social media accounts registration

“For me, double meaning has no place in a campaign. Yes, you are courting the voters to get them to vote for you but you should not discriminate against a person because of their sexual orientation and status in life,” Garcia added in Filipino.

Further, Garcia shared that he asked the law department to craft the guidelines two weeks ago. He said that the guidelines may be finalized this week and may be released next week.

The poll body chief noted that the campaign guidelines are related to the dialogue the commission held with Gabriela Women’s Party-list.

READ: Comelec urged to create ‘bawal bastos’ rule to protect women bets

Sarah Elago, first nominee of Gabriela, previously said that they would push the Comelec to craft guidelines against harassment on women poll aspirants. Elago emphasized that the guidelines will protect women candidates against misogynistic attacks.

She also said that it is in line with the Republic Act 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act that deals with gender-based sexual harassment in public and even online spaces.

The poll body recently amended the rules on social media regulations for the digital campaigning for the 2025 polls where it clarified that private social media accounts are no longer required to register their accounts for regulation.

This came after meeting with stakeholders and groups, where issues of suppressing freedom of speech and expression of constituents were raised.