'Run Sara Run' gets away with legal definition of campaign

By Kristine Gaile Gregorio

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Amid the online and offline buzz regarding the "Run Sara Run" movement, Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials backed it as still not part of the campaign of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said in a tweet posted on Feb. 17 that she finds nothing wrong with the tarpaulins bearing the message "Run Sara Run," as advertisements or posters of potential candidates are not violations because it is not the election period.

“Will revisit the rules,” Guanzon added.

Meanwhile, with the tarpaulins promoting the electoral win of a potential candidate, this will fall short of the legal definition of campaigning, said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in a message to reporters.

Photo courtesy of Robert Oswald Alfiler / Philippine News Agency

“Those tarpaulins do seek to promote the electoral win of Mayor (Sara) Duterte, but she herself isn’t a candidate yet. This means that although many would consider it a form of campaigning, it would actually fall short of the legal definition of campaigning, let alone premature campaigning,” Jimenez said.

“Therefore, there appears to be no violation of election laws or campaign rules. Anyone, in fact, can do the same thing,” he added.

In a study conducted by OCTA Research from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, Inday Sara led the poll as 22 percent of respondents chose her to be the country’s next president.

Surigao Del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel also urged the President in a press briefing last Feb. 23 to encourage either Inday Sara or his long-time aid Sen. Bong Go to replace him as the highest government official of the country when his term ends.

As for Duterte-Carpio, it looked like she was maximizing the incident as a springboard for her presidential bid in 2034.

Mayor Duterte thanked the supporters behind the campaign that is also circulating on social media and received different reactions.

"I understand where they are coming from. I, too, am anxious where we are going as a nation. I am always grateful that I have their trust and confidence. I am pleading to them to please allow me to run for President in 2034 if at that time there is something I can do to help the country," she said in a television interview on Feb. 1.

The presidential daughter, however, said she would only run for president in 2034 if the opposition would agree to support her.

The ‘Run Sara Run’ movement, which was a campaign urging presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run in the 2022 polls for the country’s top job, has been started by several groups leading to the sprout of campaign paraphernalia.

On Jan. 31, a Facebook page named "ISDA-Inday Sara Duterte Ako" posted photos of various motorcades held in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan calling Duterte-Carpio to follow her father’s footsteps.

Photos of individuals distributing calendars labeled with ‘Run Sara Run’ circulated on social media. Tarpaulins with the same caption are also to be seen in Davao, Cebu, Bacolod, Zamboanga, and Metro Manila.

Cebu City Edgar Labella said at a virtual meeting last Feb. 23 that he would order pre-election streamers to take down the posters in the different parts of the city if these do not have the required permits.

Last Jan. 14, President Rodrigo Duterte said he does not want his daughter to run for president in 2022 because the presidency is an incompatible job for a woman.

“Inday Sara is not running. I have really, really put my foot down. Naaawa ako sa anak ko. Ang pulitika dito, kababuyan,” President Duterte said on Feb. 23 in Surigao del Sur, during a situation briefing on typhoon "Auring's" impact.

The President is known to have refused to run for the presidency and turned down running mate offers for the 2016 national elections.

He then suddenly announced on Nov. 21, 2015, that he would run with the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to take the slot of the party's withdrawn presidential candidate.