Poll body violated church rights, says court

The Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the order of the election commission in 2013 to remove a Catholic cathedral’s tarpaulins in Bacolod City campaigning against candidates who supported the reproductive health law and endorsing those who opposed the measure. In a January 21, 2015 decision, the Court said the Commission on Elections violated the church’s right to free speech, expression and property, when it ordered the take-down of the tarpaulins. Comelec considered the tarpaulins election campaign materials, but the Bacolod diocese maintained they were are part of the church campaign against what was being drafted then as the reproductive health law. Despite a fierce church lobby, Congress was able to pass the law.

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