GR 103956; (March, 1992) (Digest)
G.R. No. 103956 March 31, 1992
Blo Umpar Adiong, petitioner, vs. Commission on Elections, respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Blo Umpar Adiong, a senatorial candidate, assails Sections 15(a) and 21(f) of COMELEC Resolution No. 2347, promulgated on January 13, 1992. The resolution, citing the Omnibus Election Code and Republic Act No. 6646, provides that decals and stickers may be posted only in authorized posting areas and prohibits drawing, painting, inscribing, posting, displaying, or publicly exhibiting any election propaganda in any place, whether public or private, mobile or stationary, except in designated COMELEC common poster areas, billboards, campaign headquarters, or the candidate’s residence. The petitioner contends that the prohibition against posting decals and stickers on “mobile” places like cars and other moving vehicles violates statutory law and will cause him grave and irreparable injury, especially as a political neophyte, by depriving him of a vital medium to inform the electorate after the ban on other political advertisements.
ISSUE
Whether the COMELEC may prohibit the posting of decals and stickers on “mobile” places, public or private, and limit their location to authorized posting areas.
RULING
The Supreme Court declared the COMELEC’s prohibition null and void on constitutional grounds. The prohibition unduly infringes on the citizen’s fundamental right of free speech. Freedom of expression is a preferred freedom, essential for nearly every other freedom and for ensuring free, orderly, honest, and credible elections. While the COMELEC has constitutional authority to regulate election activities to ensure clean and honest elections, such regulation has limits. The prohibition against posting decals and stickers on mobile places is too restrictive and suppresses a legitimate form of expression essential for political communication, especially within a limited campaign period. The Court emphasized that in balancing individual freedom against public interest, the scale should lean in favor of freedom, as there can be no free and honest elections if the freedom to speak and the right to know are unduly curtailed.