News peg: “Comelec to open citizens’ watch vs poll violators”. The Comelec said today that it wold come out with an advertisement that would encourage the public to report election law violations of the Fair Election Act and its IRR, Comelec Resolution 9615, before Feb. 12, the start of the campaign period.
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By the way, Comelec Resolution 9615 has a “right to reply” provision as follows:
COMELEC Resolution 9615 as amended Feb. 1, 2013:
“SECTION 14. Right to Reply. – All registered political parties, party-list groups or coalitions and bona fide candidates shall have the right to reply to charges published or aired against them. The reply shall be given publicity by the newspaper, television, and/or radio station which first printed or aired the charges with the same prominence or in the same page or section or in the same time slot as the first statement.
Registered political parties, partv-list groups or coalitions and bona fide candidates may invoke the right to reply by submitting within a non-extendible period of forty-eight (48) hours from the first broadcast or publication, a formal verified claim against the media outlet to the COMELEC, through the appropriate RED. The claim shall include a detailed enumeration .of the circumstances and occurrences which warrant the invocation of the right of reply and must be accompanied by supporting evidence, such as a copy of the publication or recording of the television or radio broadcast, as the case may be . If the supporting evidence is not yet available due to circumstances beyond the power of the . claimant, the latter shall supplement his claim as soon as the supporting evidence becomes available, without delay on the part of the claimant. The claimant must likewise furnish a copy of the verified claim and its attachments to the media outlet concerned prior to the filing of the claim with the COMELEC.
“The COMELEC, through the RED, shall review the verified claim within . forty-eight (48) hours from receipt thereof, including supporting evidence, and if circumstances warrant, give notice to the media outlet involved for appropriate action, which shall, within forty-eight (48) hours, submit its comment, answer or response to the RED, explaining the action it has taken to address the claim. The media outlet must likewise furnish a copy of the said comment, answer or response to the claimant invoking the right to reply. Should the claimant insist that his/her right to reply was not addressed, he/she may file the appropriate petition and/or complaint before the Commission on elections or its field offices, which shall be endorsed to the Clerk of the Commission.”
News peg: “Police fired fallen passengers’ guns in Atimonan shootout — NBI report xxx Policemen involved in the January 6 bloodbath that left 13 people dead at a checkpoint in Atimonan, Quezon were seen firing the fallen men’s guns – ‘one by one into the air and other directions.’ “
Without prejudice to the filing of complaints/ charges upon a finding of prima facie case for any acts of premeditated killings or killings with treachery, or superior strength, or with armed men, or by weakening the defense of persons to afford impunity (murders, for each count) or homicide if not attended by any of the circumstances constituting murder, the following provisions are also pertinent for the acts of contaminating the crime scene, e.g., one count for each alteration of the evidence, i.e., one count for each firing of the weapons that are evidence or part of the crime scene (each count punishable with six years prison)
PD 1829, Obstruction. “Section 1. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period, or a fine ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 pesos, or both, shall be imposed upon any person who knowingly or willfully obstructs, impedes, frustrates or delays the apprehension of suspects and the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases by committing any of the following acts:
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“(b) altering, destroying, suppressing or concealing any … object, with intent to impair its verity, authenticity, legibility, availability, or admissibility as evidence in any investigation of or official proceedings in, criminal cases, or to be used in the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;
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“(f) making, presenting or using any … object with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation of, or official proceedings in, criminal cases;
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“(i) giving of false or fabricated information to mislead or prevent the law enforcement agencies from apprehending the offender or from protecting the life or property of the victim; or fabricating information from the data gathered in confidence by investigating authorities for purposes of background information and not for publication and publishing or disseminating the same to mislead the investigator or to the court.
“Section 2. If any of the foregoing acts is committed by a public official or employee, he shall in addition to the penalties provided thereunder, suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public office. xXxx”
