Constitutional law professor and senatorial bet Atty. Adel Tamano hit the recent call of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for celebrities endorsing political candidates to either resign or go on leave from their shows.

“The COMELEC resolution implementing section 6 of the Fair Elections Act mandating that celebrity endorsers go on leave is unconstitutional and violates the rights of freedom of association and expression,” Tamano emphasized.

The Nacionalista Party senatorial candidate and spokesperson added: “Why should celebrities be penalized for expressing their support for candidates? They are covered by the same rights to express their opinions and support candidates that they like, which is a right of all Filipino citizens, so why single them out?”

Tamano, the first ever Filipino Muslim to graduate from Harvard Law School and the former President of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, has garnered the endorsements of popular action star Robin Padilla and of popular singer-actor Ogie Alcasid.

“Ogie Alcasid has done a TV commercial for me and is endorsing me. Without his help, it will be difficult for the public to recognize me. Celebrity endorsers serve an important purpose especially for lesser known candidates like myself by acting as the bridge to introduce a worthy but less known candidate. They level the playing field against candidates who are re-electionists and artista or media personalities who are already well known to the public,” Tamano explained.

“I hate to say it but perhaps this latest COMELEC resolution is a mere ploy to distract the public. The COMELEC has bigger problems to solve – from all these delays in ballot printing and deliveries of PCOS machines to assuring the public that signals won’t be jammed during transmission of election results. Why don’t they concentrate on those first?”

The young lawyer even joked: “Or perhaps the COMELEC thinks that the political candidates can provide the entertainment in the meantime.”