Comelec to appeal court decision on air time limit

Although they have not received the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) stopping them to implement the airtime limit on political advertisements on television and radio, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will ask the Solicitor General to file a motion for reconsideration for the SC to immediately decide on the merits of the case.

"I am going to ask the Solicitor General who's handling the case for us to file a motion immediately para sabihin hindi natin pwede iwanang naka-status quo ante. They should resolve already the merits kasi maraming nagkakaroon ng interpretation parang decision na 'yung lumabas e," said Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes.

He explained that the status quo ante order is a provisional order and it's not a decision yet.

"There is no victory or defeat yet. Hindi pa kami mali, hindi din kami tama, nobody make conclusions na mali kami na tama 'yung ginawa ng SC," Brillantes said.

He added that the decision is a delay on the part of the poll body since they cannot implement Resolution 9516.

"It's a setback because it effectively ties our hands and says hindi kayo pwede gumalaw dahil naka-status quo ante – ibig sabihin we cannot implement our resolution," the Comelec chief noted.

He added, "Ang daming malabo. Everybody is kept hanging, everything is in limbo. Hindi natin alam ang gagawin."

Last Tuesday, the High Court prevented the poll body to implement the said resolution after issuing the status quo ante order. (PNA)