In view of the third paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8436, as
amended, the Dissenting Opinion argues that Section 80 of the Omnibus Election
Code can not be applied to the present case since, as the Court held in Lanot v.
Commission on Elections,[34] the election campaign or partisan activity, which
constitute the prohibited premature campaigning, should be designed to promote
the election or defeat of a particular candidate or candidates. Under present
election laws, while a person may have filed his/her COC within the prescribed
period for doing so, said person shall not be considered a candidate until the start
of the campaign period. Thus, prior to the start of the campaign period, there can
be no election campaign or partisan political activity designed to promote the
election or defeat of a particular candidate to public office because there is no
candidate to speak of.
According to the Dissenting Opinion, even if Peneras acts before the start of
the campaign period constitute election campaigning or partisan political activities,
these are not punishable under Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code given that
she was not yet a candidate at that time. On the other hand, Peneras acts, if
committed within the campaign period, when she was already a candidate, are
likewise not covered by Section 80 as this provision punishes only acts outside the
campaign period.
The Dissenting Opinion ultimately concludes that because of Section 15 of
Republic Act No. 8436, as amended, the prohibited act of premature campaigning
in Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code, is practically impossible to commit at
any time.
We disagree. Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code remains relevant and
applicable despite Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8436, as amended.
A close reading of the entire Republic Act No. 9369, which amended Republic Act
No. 8436, would readily reveal that that it did not contain an express repeal of