RESTRICTIONS on election ads and on close-contact interaction such as hugs, kisses and selfies with potential voters for national candidates finally took effect on Tuesday as the Commission on Elections started enforcing prohibitions for the campaign period.
The candidates will also be banned from entering private dwellings even with the express permission of the homeowner, crowding, engaging in handshakes, hugs, kisses, and selfies with the public and the distribution of food and drinks. In the case of broadcast election propaganda, Comelec will limit its duration for television to 120 minutes for television advertising on a per station basis and 180 minutes for radio advertising on a per station basis.
Comelec issued the clarification after the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism recently published a report that several candidates already spent millions of pesos prior to the campaign period in “traditional” media.