Another bet in hot water for insensitive remarks
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has issued a show-cause order against another candidate, this time a gubernatorial bet in Nueva Ecija, who allegedly ridiculed a candidate suffering from cancer.
Comelec’s Task Force Safe (Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections) said that Virgilio Bote could be charged with violating its Resolution No. 11116, which prescribes antidiscrimination and fair campaigning guidelines for the May 12 polls.
READ: Comelec chair to Nueva Ecija gubernatorial bet: Don’t make fun of cancer
The order, signed by task force head and Comelec Director Sonia Bea Wee-Lozada, reminded Bote that section 3 of the resolution lists “public ridicule against persons with disabilities (PWDs)” as among the prohibited acts during the election period.
No-no in campaigning
At a press conference, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said that people with health conditions, including cancer patients, are considered PWDs under the law.
“The person already has cancer, and if it [were] true, do we need to degrade him on stage during a campaign? It’s a no-no in campaigning; that’s common sense; we did not even have to include it in the guidelines. When a candidate is a PWD or has a health issue, let’s refrain from attacking the candidate because of that,” he said.
Bote, 70, a candidate of the administration’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, reportedly said while campaigning on April 3 that a mayoral candidate who is his ally would surely win because his opponent was in the hospital battling stage 5 kidney cancer.
Bote is the fifth candidate to be issued a show-cause order by the task force for violation of Resolution 11116, which may lead to disqualification, a criminal charge of election offense, or both.
Earlier, gubernatorial candidate Ruwel Peter Gonzaga of Davao de Oro also received a show-cause order from the Comelec for his remarks that humiliated and made fun of women’s bodies during the culmination of the Bulawan (Gold) Festival in the province.
