any time and that this flaw in the law, which defines a criminal act, must be construed in favor of Penera, the offender in the instant case. The application of the above rule is uncalled for. It was acknowledged in Lanot that a disqualification case has two aspects: one, electoral;[48] the other, criminal.[49] The instant case concerns only the electoral aspect of the disqualification case. Any discussion herein on the matter of Peneras criminal liability for premature campaigning would be nothing more than obiter dictum. More importantly, as heretofore already elaborated upon, Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8436, as amended, did not expressly or even impliedly repeal Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code, and these two provisions, based on legislative intent and policy, can be harmoniously interpreted and given effect. Thus, there isno flaw created in the law, arising from Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8436, as amended, which needed to be construed in Peneras favor. The Dissenting Opinion further expresses the fear that pursuant to our theory, all the politicians with infomercials prior to the filing of their COCs would be subject to disqualification, and this would involve practically all the prospective presidential candidates who are now leading in the surveys. This fear is utterly unfounded. It is the filing by the person of his/her COC through which he/she explicitly declares his/her intention to run as a candidate in the coming elections. It is such declaration which would color the subsequent acts of said person to be election campaigning or partisan political activities as described under Section 79(b) of the Omnibus Election Code. It bears to point out that, at this point, no politician has yet submitted his/her COC. Also, the plain solution to this rather misplaced apprehension is for the politicians themselves to adhere to the letter and intent of the law and keep within the bounds of fair play in the pursuit of their candidacies. This would mean that after filing their COCs, the prudent and proper course for them to take is to wait for

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