Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez called out a school for printing a test paper that featured a question about a local government official.
The Facebook page “Pasig Para sa Pagbabago” posted a photo of a test paper that was sent to them by a concerned mother.
According to them, the mother was in disbelief when she found out that certain names of local officials were included in the test paper.
A question in the test paper reads: “Sino ang masipag at nagbibigay serbisyong totoo, ang namumuno sa Lungsod Pasig?”
The offered choices were “Hon. Ricky Eusebio, Hon. Robert ‘Bobby’ Eusebio” and “Hon. Rob Eusebio.”
Ricky Eusebio is Pasig City’s district representative while Bobby Eusebio is the incumbent mayor who is seeking to be reelected in the 2019 midterm elections.
Jimenez shared the picture on Twitter and accompanied it with a query, where he asked which school had printed and distributed the particular test paper.
Saang paaralan ginamit itong test questionnaire na ito? Paki-provide naman ng kumpletong info tungkol sa bagay na ito. Salamat. #SumbongSaCOMELEC #VoterEd #NLE2019 https://t.co/AesFQqEEee
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) February 22, 2019
While there are no explicit rules that state whether the action is against the “Omnibus Election Code” or not, it could not be considered premature campaigning since it does not directly state that people should vote for Bobby Eusebio.
The start of the campaign period for local elections is on March 29.
Meanwhile, the Facebook page condemned the test paper and claimed that it was a form of “mind conditioning.”
“Tama ba na gamitin ang mga bata sa pamumulitika ng pamilyang ito? Bata pa lang subject na sa mind conditioning ng pamilya nila,” they stated, referring to the Eusebios.
Some parents in the comments section claimed that it was a test paper of second graders.
Others, however, suggested that parents should tell their children not to answer the certain question.
“Para sa mga magulang. Sabihan niyo mga anak niyo na ‘wag na silang pumili sa tatlo. Leave it unanswered,” Facebook user Piolo Cisnero wrote.
The Eusebios are public officials from Pasig City who have been in power for decades. Different members of the family have occupied the mayoral seat since 1992.
During the filing of the certificate of candidacy in October 2018, Filipinos—particularly the Pasig constituents—welcomed the willingness of Pasig City Councilor Vicco Sotto to run against one of its family members.
