1. Premature Campaigning

Campaign Period

• President, vice president and senators - 90 days before election day
• Congressmen, provincial, city and municipal officials - 45 days before election day.

As a general rule, the period of election starts at ninety (90) days before and ends thirty (30) days after the election date pursuant to Section 9, Article IX-C of the Constitution and Section 3 of BP 881. This rule, however, is not without exception. Under these same provisions, the COMELEC is not precluded from setting a period different from that provided thereunder. (Aquino vs. COMELEC, G.R. 211789-90, 2015).

Not every act of beneficence from a candidate may be considered campaigning. The term “campaigning” should not be made to apply to any and every act which may influence a person to vote for a candidate, for that would be stretching too far the meaning of the term. Examining the definition and enumeration of election campaign and partisan political activity found in the COMELEC Resolution No. 3636, the COMELEC is convinced that only those acts which are primarily designed to solicit votes will be covered by the definition and enumeration. The distribution of sports items in line with the sports and education program of the province does not constitute election campaigning; Section 261(v) of BP 881 restricts specified releases, disbursements, or expenditures of public funds during the 45 days before a regular election, subject to statutory exceptions, rather than prohibiting every release of public funds during that period. (Pangkat Laguna v. Comelec, G.R. 148075, 2002).

Premature Campaigning

Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code concerns election campaigning or partisan political activity outside the campaign period; it does not govern every election offense. The act of engaging in an election campaign or partisan political activity to “promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate or candidates”, before the start of the campaign period, is what was commonly known as “premature campaigning”. Because premature campaigning requires the existence of a “candidate” and because there is no “candidate” to speak of until the start of the campaign period, there is no more premature campaigning. (Penera vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 181613, 2009).