Three senatorial bets in the 2022 national elections were mistakenly referred to by the poll body as “vice presidential” candidates on its e-rally Facebook page.
Senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares pointed this out in a tweet where he shared a screengrab of the video released by the Commission on Elections on its e-Rally channel on February 9.
“Dear COMELEC, senator po ang tinatakbo ko, hindi vice president,” the human rights lawyer wrote, sharing a screengrab of his advertisement played on the Campaign SAFE COMELEC e-Rally Channel page.
A video included a ticker that introduces Colmenares as a “vice presidential candidate.”
Dear COMELEC, senator po ang tinatakbo ko, hindi vice president. pic.twitter.com/Jsz58pZMcP
— Neri Colmenares (@ColmenaresPH) February 9, 2022
At the 1:20:02 mark of the video, the ticker can be seen being fixed to read “senatorial” instead.
Colmenares is part of opposite coalition 1Sambayan’s senatorial slate, which endorses the tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan as president and vice president, respectively.
The gaffe in the e-Rally video was also encountered when the ads of other senatorial bets, former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat and information secretary Gringo Honasan, played.
The ticker similarly referred to them as “vice presidential” candidates.
Baguilat is among the aspiring senators running under Robredo’s slate.
Honasan, on the other hand, is running under the senatorial slate of the tandem of former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio who are running for president and vice president, respectively.
Unlike Colmenares, however, Baguilat and Honasan were referred to as “vice presidential” candidates throughout the playtime of their ads.
The Comelec is providing free livestreaming of e-rallies of national candidates particularly presidential, vice presidential, senatorial bets and party-list groups on its Facebook page.
“This platform can help ensure that even those candidates who have less in followers can still have more in views and exposure, so to speak,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said last January.
Each 2022 candidate has timeslots on the e-rally page where they could show their ads or personally appear to present themselves to the voters.
Presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as political parties, are given ten minutes each to campaign.
Senatorial and party-list groups bets, on the other hand, are given three minutes.
