UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 03

Series of 2018-2019

IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE 2019 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
COUNCIL ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN

WHEREAS, the Senior High School Commission on Elections (SHS COMELEC), hereinafter known
as the Commission, is the sole governing body of all election-related matters within its local unit.

WHEREAS, the University Students’ Election Code and the UST Senior High School Student
Council Constitution confers the Commission with exclusive powers in accordance with the
effective discharge of its duties and functions.

WHEREAS, the Commission recognizes its responsibility of upholding free, fair, honest, and clean
elections.

WHEREAS, the Commission acknowledges the right of every Senior High School student to be
fully aware and informed about the qualifications, credentials, and principles of all aspiring
executive board candidates for A.Y. 2018-2019

WHEREAS, the Commission also views the effectivity of campaigning as an avenue for the
candidates’ and political parties’ promotion of their ideologies and platforms.

WHEREAS, the Commission has the right to establish necessary guidelines and administer rules
for the orderly conduct of campaign activities.
NOW THEREFORE, the Senior High School Commission on Elections, by the virtue of the power
vested in the body hereby decrees:

Section 1. Title. This order shall be known as the “Implementing Rules and Regulations for the
2019 Senior High School Student Council Elections Campaign.”

Section 2. Applicability. These rules shall apply to all campaign activities during the 2019 Senior
High School Student Council Elections.

Section 3. Definition of Terms. To fully understand the salient features of the Executive Order,
the following terms shall be interpreted as:

A. “Election Campaign” refers to any act designed to promote the election or defeat of a
particular candidate or candidates to a public office which may include the following:

a. Forming organizations, clubs, committees or other groups of persons for the

purpose of campaigning for or against a candidate;

b. Holding political caucuses, conferences, meetings, rallies, parades or other

similar assemblies for the purpose of soliciting votes and/or undertaking any
campaign or propaganda for or against a candidate;

c. Making speeches, announcements or commentaries, or holding interviews for

or against the election of any candidate for public office;

d. Publishing or distributing campaign literature or materials designed to support

or oppose the election of any candidate; and

e. Directly or indirectly soliciting votes, pledges or support for or against any

candidate.

B. “Candidate” refers to any person aspiring for or seeking an elective office who has filed
his certificate of candidacy; provided that a candidate running under the banner of a
political party shall be a member of such political party as defined under the University Students’
Election Code.

C. “Independent candidate” refers to a candidate who is not running under the banner of a
political party.

D. “Political party” or “party” refers to an organized group of students pursuing the same ideology,
political ideas or platforms of government and includes its branches and divisions, as defined
under the University of Students’ Election Code.

E. “Political party member” refers to a person duly registered by their respective political party,
with complete requirements, within the period provided by the Commission.
Section 4. Campaign Materials. The commission shall grant permission on the usage of the following
campaign materials as specified by Art. VII, Sec. 5 of the USEC.

Section 5. Allowable Campaign Materials. The following campaign materials shall be

allowed subject to the supervision and approval of the COMELEC:

Section 5.1 Streamers or Tarpaulins

5.1.1 For a political party, each streamer or tarpaulin shall not be more than three
(3) meters long and one (1) meter in height. For an independent candidate, each
streamer or tarpaulin shall not be more than one and a half (1 ½) meters long and
half (½) meter in height;

5.1.2 The COMELEC unit concerned shall designate the place where such streamer
or tarpaulin can be put up. Moreover, no more than one streamer or tarpaulin per
party or per independent candidate shall be put up in each building.

Section 5.2 Posters

5.2.1 Posters for a political party shall not be bigger than eleven (11) inches by
seventeen (17) inches or A3 size paper. Posters for an independent candidate or
individual candidate shall not be larger than eight and a half (8 ½) by eleven (11)
inches;

5.2.2 The COMELEC unit concerned shall designate the place where such posters
can be put up, provided that glue, paste, or any other such adhesive shall not be
used in posting.

Section 5. Duration of Campaign. The five school-day campaign period shall commence by April
1, 2019 to April 5, 2019. All form of campaign exceeding the mentioned dates and during the No-
Campaign Day, as settled by the Commission, should be considered as an election offense.

Section 6. Campaign Activities. Every candidate shall properly observe the following specific
rules and restrictions during the conduct of the permitted duration of the campaign.

Section 6.1 Monitoring of Campaign. At least one (1) deputy and one (1) COMELEC officer
or strand representative on duty should accompany each candidate during room-to-room
campaigns. On the event that no deputy is present, one (1) COMELEC officer or strand
representative can permit the conduct of the campaign activity. For the campaign of
political party, at least three (3) deputy and one (1) COMELEC officer or strand
representative on duty should accompany them during room-to-room campaigns. On the
event that no deputy is present, at least two (2) COMELEC officers or strand
representative can permit the conduct of the campaign activity. Commencement of
campaign without any duly recognized authority present shall be considered a campaign
offense.

Section 6.2 Before the Campaign

6.2.1 Every candidate who wishes to run for office shall submit all campaign materials and
paraphernalia to be utilized for the whole campaign period. All materials submitted are
subjected to approval and authorization from the Commission before distribution or
posting. It includes all but not limited to electronic copies and physical copies of the
campaign materials, status posts, photographs, write-ups, tweets, and others.

6.2.2 The Commission has the sole authority and power to designate common poster
areas and locations where campaign paraphernalia may be posted.

6.2.3 As stated in the USEC, all independent candidates are entitled to having one (1)
campaign manager. For political parties, at most three (3) campaign managers are
allowed. Candidates and political parties must submit the names, together with the
certificate of good moral character approved and certified by the SHS office and one (1)
passport-sized photo, of their official campaign manager.

Furthermore, the Commission reminds every candidate and political parties of Art. VII,
Sec. 3 of the USEC, which states:

“A campaign manager being the agent of his respective political party or independent
candidate, his acts are therefore the acts of the part or the independent candidate.”

6.2.4 Desired schedule for room-to-room campaigns should be coordinated with the
Commission that is then subjected to approval. On the instance that a candidate wishes
to change the submitted schedule, he may do so by contacting the Commission not later
than 10 p.m. or earlier than 6 p.m. before the actual campaign.

Section 6.3 During the Campaign

6.3.1 It is the duty of the campaign manager to ask permission from the professor in
charge on the designated room, according to schedule. Unless granted permission, the
candidate may not commence in his campaign activity.

6.3.2 Pursuant to Art. VII, Sec. 2 of the USEC, independent candidates and political parties
may only campaign for a maximum of three (3) minutes and fifteen (15) minutes,
respectively. An extension may be granted to the campaigning candidates by the
professors concerned but not more than two (2) minutes and ten (10) minutes,
respecticvely. This extension is permitted for the sole purpose of question and answer.
6.3.3 The campaign manager must stay in the room during the whole campaign activity.
He has the right and privilege to document, through lawful means, the foregoing activity
unless any member of the class establishes a clear objection.

6.3.4 Students, on classes wherein campaign is to be conducted, are not prohibited from
taking picture/s and/or video/s during the campaign activities. However, the candidates
and campaign managers shall monitor and regulate those who wish to post online then
ensure that no law or rule in observance shall be violated.

6.3.5 Loitering and creation of noise is strictly prohibited. No ongoing classes, except
those with permission for the conduct of campaigning, shall be disturbed or disrupted.
Complaints regarding the aforementioned case shall be entertained and be given rightful
sanction and penalties as stated on Section 7.

6.3.6 Electronic campaigning

a. Social media campaigning are limited to Facebook and Twitter only. The Commission
deems it best to designate the mentioned platforms for easy monitoring. Creation of
websites for the sole purpose of promoting a candidate is allowed as long as the
Commission can access, view, and monitor its daily activities. Other online media not
mentioned therein are considered prohibited.

b. Campaign-related posts or online and digital materials shall only be posted in the
permitted social media platforms when the official hashtag designated by the
Commission is indicated, #HalalanSHS2019 #shSeleksiyon2019. Subsequent postings
rooted from original posts (shared or retweeted content) shall also contain the official
hashtag.

c. Short message service (SMS) or texts shall be a prohibited platform for campaigning
because of its invasive nature. Campaign propaganda through SMS or text are the
following but not limited to: messages encouraging the recipient(s) to vote for or against
any running candidate, a non-partisan or any student without political affiliation sending
messages to a certain group of people regarding the promotion of a candidate, and
forwarding the previously mentioned messages.

d. Videos and photographs for the purpose of promotion are subject for approval before
the Commission. However, documentation taken during the campaign activities are
granted the permission to be posted without checking as long as it complies with all the
rules mentioned in this executive order.
 e. No material shall be posted with the intention of destroying a candidate’s or interested
person’s image through but not limited to defamatory, foul, offensive, or indecent
language and statements.

f. All materials used for online campaigning shall also abide to the designated campaign
duration, as stated in Section 5.

Section 6.4 Supplementing Rules. Aside from the abovementioned regulations, all
campaign activities should also comply with the guidelines and bylaws established in the
USEC.

Section 7. Penalties. Every person proven, in any case filed by any interested parties or persons
or through motu proprio, violating these rules and all related provisions from the USEC 2011 are
subjected to the penalties stated in Art. VII, Sec. 9 of the mentioned code.

a. First offense- Reprimand with stern warning that reputation of the offense will accord
heavier penalty.
b. Second offense- Suspension or prohibition of the right to campaign for several hours, day
or days until the end of the campaign period as maybe determined by the COMELEC.
c. Third offense- Temporary or Permanent Disqualification from office and the COMELEC
unit concerned shall recommend the suspension of the student as sanction by the Student
Handbook.

Provided, the second offense shall mean the commission of another or of the same campaign
offense and the third offense, the commission of three different or the same campaign offenses.
However, if the second offense is done during the last day of the campaign, the penalty imposed
shall be temporary or permanent disqualification. In case the offender is a member or officer of
a political party, the proper penalty is from temporary or permanent prohibition to participate in
any electoral process or cancellation of registration.

Section 8. Effectivity. These rules shall take effect immediately.

SO ORDERED.
En Banc
Executive Order No. 03 Series of 2018- 2019
IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE 2019 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
COUNCIL ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN

MR. ZOAH JOSH M. SALVADOR MR. ZEANNON MOSES E. PEJO

Chairperson Finance Officer
UST SHS Commission on Elections UST SHS Commission on Elections

MR. PAUL CERVIN E. RIVERA MS. NATALIE JAIMS H. BRITANICO

Vice-Chairperson Logistics Officer
UST SHS Commission on Elections UST SHS Commission on Elections

MS. DAWN ALLYN L. LANTAJO MS. JENN KLOE E. RAQUEPO

Secretary to the Executive Operations Officer
UST SHS Commission on Elections UST SHS Commission on Elections

MR. PETER PATRICK S. CAÑA MS. ALYSSA LARAINE M. CUNANAN

Head, Legal Division Public Information Officer
UST SHS Commission on Elections UST SHS Commission on Elections

MR. LORENZO S. AGUILAR MR. JOSE ALBERTO T. BACUD

Secretary to the Adjudicatory Representative to the Central COMELEC
UST SHS Commission on Elections UST SHS Commission on Elections

MS. SOPHIA MARIE G. BOLOS

Noted by: Deputy Head
UST SHS Commission on Elections

MS. AVA JILL JACOBA MR. ERICSSON RAMOS

Adviser
Adviser
UST SHS Commission on Elections
UST SHS Commission on Elections