DIOCESE OF BACOLOD, Rev. Freedom of G.R. No.

205728 21 JAN 2015

Bishop Vicente Navarra v. Expression: Elections Leonen, J. – En Banc
COMELEC, Atty. Mavil Majarucon and Expressions

Doctrine
●

Codal/Law

● Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution

Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression…

● COMELEC Resolution No. 9615

● P.B 881 / Omnibus Election Code

Section 79 (b) The term “election campaign” or “partisan political activity” refers to

an act designed to promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate or

candidates to a public office which shall include: xxx xxx xxx

Public expressions or opinions or discussions of probable issues in a forth coming

election… shall not be construed as part of any election campaign or partisan political

activity contemplated under this Article.

Facts
● Petitioners posted two (2) tarpaulins within a private compound housing, each about 6 by 10
feet (6’ x 10’), on the front walls of the cathedral within public view
● The tarpaulin subject to the case contains a heading which reads “Conscience Vote” and lists
candidates as either (Anti-RH Bill) “Team Buhay” with a check mark, or “(Pro-RH Bill)
“Team Patay” with an “X” mark.
● The tarpaulin was neither sponsored nor paid by any candidate, making them expressions by
private citizens in support of their advocacy
● Respondent issued a Notice to Remove Campaign Materials ordering the removal of
the tarpaulins within three (3) days of receipt for being oversized. COMELEC Resolution
9615 provides a size requirement of 2’ x 3’.

Issue: Did the COMELEC have a legal basis to regulate expressions by private citizens? No.

Ruling: All of the provisions from the Constitution, laws and jurisprudence that were cited by
COMELEC pertain to candidates and political parties. The petitioners in this case are not candidates
nor do they belong to any political party.

Issue: Was the order for removal a Content-based regulation? Yes.

Ruling: Content-based restraint or censorship refers to restrictions “based on the subject

matter of the utterance or speech. Content-neutral regulation includes controls merely on the
incidents of the speech such as time, place or manner of the speech. In this case, since the content of
the tarpaulin is not easily separated from the size of its medium, the Court held that size
limitations during elections is a core part of expression (since a 2’ x 3’ campaign material might
not be seen at long distances). Size regulation is related to the suppression of speech, limiting the
size of the tarpaulin would render their message ineffective.