In Philippines, shaking hands, kissing babies banned during election campaign amid COVID

The Philippines Election Commission is developing new guidelines for next year's presidential elections, which has successfully eliminated ingrained political campaigning practices such as shaking hands amid the outbreak of the COVID pandemic.

Given recent evidence regarding the importance of hand hygiene and social distance in preventing the spread of the highly contagious virus, the Comelec has suggested against hugging and kissing when politicians go on their campaign trail.

Limited people allowed for events

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez stated that the public displays of affection were previously an integral component of the campaigning process but now politicians will not be able to do it. He further stated that at this point, all conceivable venues in any specific region must have mentioned capabilities on file. This may allow them to limit the number of people who attend events in certain areas, permit granting will likely be restricted. 

According to Jimenez, the poll commission does not intend to put a ban on face-to-face campaigns since it would be unfair to candidates who cannot afford costly print and broadcast media commercials. He also cited the practice of delivering food packs to those attending political rallies as an example of the stricter campaign rules enacted in the wake of the outbreak. 

The Philippines, which is still dealing with a steady increase in COVID infections, continues to prohibit large gatherings. The country is preparing for the threat posed by new virus strains, particularly the extremely contagious Delta variant. There have been 1,507,755 confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country, with 26,714 deaths. In the face of dwindling vaccine supplies, the government is stepping up efforts to speed up vaccination. So far, about 4 million Filipinos have been properly vaccinated, with the government aiming to vaccinate up to 70 million this year.

On May 9, 2022, Philippines will elect its 17th President, Vice President, 12 Senators, and local officials, including members of Congress. The campaign period for national positions will begin on February 8, 2022, and for local positions on March 25, 2022. Carlito Galvez, the government's principal implementer of Covid-19 actions, has asked lawmakers to refrain from placing their names on tarpaulins or signs at immunisation locations.