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Upcoming Pacquiao fight could possibly pose an election violation says COMELEC chief

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<ul><li style="text-align: justify;">An upcoming boxing match could be a possible election violation against Rep. Manny Pacquiao</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">Pacquiao, running for Senator, is scheduled to fight Tim Bradley a month before election</li> <li style="text-align: justify;">Critics say this give undue advantage to Pacquiao as a form of political advertisement</li> </ul>The upcoming boxing match that the incumbent Sarangani Representative and Senatorial aspirant Manny Pacquiao will be fighting in could possibly be construed as an electoral offense, warns Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Andres Bautista. Pacquiao is set to have a rematch with American boxer Timothy Bradley scheduled for April 9. The chosen date, however, falls within the election campaign season, exactly one month before the national polls. In this light, Bautista has already tasked lawyers in the poll body to review whether the match could be considered as a way to promote himself and his election campaign. According to election rules, candidates are barred from appearing in movies or documentaries in film or television, as well as from their product endorsements on media platforms during the course of the electoral campaign in order to ensure “equal access to media time and space.” “If you’re an endorser who decided to run for public office, you have to stop your endorsements during campaign period,” Bautista said, as quoted by <a href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/18/1554360/comelec-pacquiao-fight-possibly-poll-violation">PhilStar</a>. Earlier, another Senatorial candidate, former AKBAYAN Party-list Representative Walden Bello, called on Pacquiao to reschedule his fight or else risk disqualification for violating election rules. “Manny is a great boxer, and I am a fan, but now that he is also a senatorial candidate, he needs to understand that election laws must apply to everyone,” Bello told the <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/765947/walden-bello-to-pacquiao-hold-off-bradley-bout-or-risk-dq">Inquirer</a>. Bello also pointed out that the fight would already generate hours of coverage before and after; on top of the broadcasting of the match itself. This would give undue advantage for Pacquiao as this could be considered as “political advertisement.” “As a boxer and world class athlete, I’m sure Manny understands the concept of sportsmanship and fair play. As a senatorial candidate, he should abide by the same rules as everyone else. No one should have an undue advantage in terms of media coverage. No one should be above the law. He must reschedule this fight to after 9 May 2016,” Bello said. Although the COMELEC is currently studying this particular case, Chairman Bautista said the poll body can decide on the case only if a complaint is filed; as taking any action at this point could be taken against the agency. “At this point, I think it’s all speculative. But if and when a formal complaint is filed, the Commission will look into it. We have to look at the Fair Elections Act, as well as ‘yung sa rules regarding campaign expenses. These are the related issues,” he said. <a href="http://kickerdaily.com/pacquiao-fight-election-violation-says-comelec-chief/" rel="nofollow">Kicker Daily News</a>

An upcoming boxing match could be a possible election violation against Rep. Manny Pacquiao Pacquiao, running for Senator, is scheduled to f...