At 12:01 am, 09 February 2010, the campaign period for the national positions for the Philippines' elections opened not with a bang but with a whimper — at least in my neighborhood.
This is a Commission on Elections (COMELEC)-designated date in which the allowed campaigning starting today, up to May 8, 2010, are for those running for President, Vice President, Senators and Party-List Representatives.
With some late releases of guidelines and regulations, attendance to forums and debates by candidates, monitoring surveys and other such campaign activities, political party staff and volunteers are probably all over themselves especially in the past 12 hours of Monday running up to the official start of the campaign period.
As I write this, there hasn't been any hushed, overnight group action in the streets so far, unlike in past campaign periods when service vehicles would stop by each coconut tree by our fence, unload a ladder and have a man or two hammer away in the still of night to clandestinely dress up the helpless trees with campaign materials or simply try to mess up others' property without as much as a peep of simple courtesy.
And so, elections are here, Philippine-style. We exercise America's gift of democracy, Philippine-style. This is where all the campaign spending matters.
REF:
Download COMELEC Resolution 8758 (PDF) here.
