Murals bring art into the public sphere and can be effective in attracting attention to social issues. But mural painters can also be targets of harassments.
Several men in Las Piñas City were caught on video last Sunday, March 13, 2022, whitewashing a mural supporting presidential candidate Leni Robredo.
Young artists from the volunteer group Youth for Leni Las Piñeros painted the mural on Saturday morning, March 12, 2022, at a vacant lot along Padre Diego Cera Avenue corner C5 Extensión.
The property is owned by the family of independent Las Piñas mayoral candidate Benjamin Gonzales.
The property is about a kilometer away from The Tent at Vistamall Global South, venue of UniTeam’s political rally scheduled on March 13, 2022.
The security guards of the nearby commercial property approached the young artists and harassed them on Saturday by saying that the painting of the mural is illegal.
Gonzales went to the area on Saturday equipped with a copy of the title to the property.
The defacement, however, proceeded a day later, Sunday, despite Gonzales’ pronouncement that he gave his permission for the project.
The affiliation of the men who whitewashed the wall is still undetermined.
But there was another video that surfaced where one of the men, who was wearing an orange shirt, shouted “Di kasi kayo nagpaalam kay (name of politician)!”
Another mural defacement occurred on February 12 at a privately-owned wall in Barangay Ipil in Echague, Isabela, by uniformed personnel pursuant to the Comelec’s “Operation Baklas” campaign.
Authorities proceeded to paint over the artwork despite the protestation of the property owner. The volunteers repainted the wall in pink but it was again vandalized.
The artists repainted the mural on March 11 with the intention of leaving the last pink rose for Robredo and vice-presidential candidate Kiko Pangilinan to draw and paint.
Comelec Commissioner James Jimenez admitted in an interview that murals are not mentioned in the guidelines mandating the size of campaign materials.
The poll body has stopped removing campaign materials posted on private property after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on “Oplan Baklas.”
Comelec Resolution No. 10730 provides guidelines for posting campaign materials, including common poster areas and the measurement of campaign paraphernalia.
The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on “Oplan Baklas” a week after Robredo supporters petitioned the court to stop the operations.
The petitioners sought the issuance of a TRO, while the resolution of the petition is pending, prohibiting the Comelec from implementing Section 21 (o), Section 24, and Section 26 of Resolution No. 10730 with respect to the poll body’s order “to dismantle, remove, destroy, deface, and/or confiscate all election materials that are privately owned and privately funded solely by volunteers and private citizens and posted and/or installed within their private properties.”
They argued that taking down of oversized campaign posters in private properties is a violation of the constitutional right to free expression, among others.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines said that “there can be no meaningful exercise of the right to suffrage if the people’s basic and essential freedoms are unduly restrained and disregarded in the name of equal opportunity for all candidates.”
Censorship is like poison gas: a powerful weapon that can harm you when the wind shifts.
It is the government’s obligation to ensure freedom of “political” expression, which is more important than ever during an election period.
Artistic expression containing “political” content during an election period should be free from harassment and intimidation by the government or private entities.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in any free society and artistic freedom must be afforded the highest protection.
The role of the artist in challenging power is the very lifeblood of our cultural and political life.
Defacing the mural is an act of cowardice and insecurity to the efforts of the youth, and it will only further ignite their dedication to the campaign for a well-informed electorate.
Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email [email protected], or call 09175025808 or 09088665786
