Comelec issues Dan Lim SCO

for possible election offenses

The Commission on Election’s Task Force on Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections (TASK FORCE SAFE) has issued a Show Cause Order (SCO) against gubernatorial candidate and lawyer Dan Neri Lim, over the candidate’s public remarks against Bohol District 2 representative Maria Vanessa Aumentado, which for the Task Force, merits a violation on the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) anti-discrimination and fair campaigning.

The poll body gave the respondent former city mayor a non-extendible three days to show cause, why he should not be cited for the above election offenses.

On two occasions in his radio program Barug Bohol, Atty. Lim talked about the congresswoman’s undergarments and claimed that the child of the congresswoman is fathered by another man, because the baby does not look like her daughter, sates the complaint to the Comelec, filed by Congresswoman Aumentado.

The Comelec see these acts constitutive of possible violations to Comelec Resolution No. 11116 or its anti-discrimination and campaigning guidelines for the 2025 elections.

In the resolution’s section 3, the poll body cited election offenses during the campaign period which include bullying , child abuse, coercion, discrimination against women, discrimination against persons with disability, use of public accommodation, gender-based harassment and immoral doctrines.

The Poll body’s Task Force also cited Republic Act 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act and Republic Act7610 or the protection of Children against abuse, exploitation and discrimination.

It defined gender-based harassment as any unwanted and uninvited sexual action or remarks against any person regardless of motive whether in person or online, broadcast or in print including physical, psychological and emotional threats, unwanted sexual misogynistic, transphobic, homophobic and sexist remarks and comments whether publicly or through direct and private communications or messages.

TF SAFE cited Lim for his remarks as publishing or posting lies about candidates and immediate family members to harm their reputation, persistent telling of sexual jokes and use of sexual names and on issuing statements of sexual comments or suggestions and any acts or advances whether verbal or physical that are unwanted and threatened one’s sense of personal space and physical safety.

As to the potential child abuse suit, the Comelec sees Lim’s possible maltreatment of a child in any election related activity by the act of debasing, degrading or demeaning the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being.

For these, the TF orders Lim to explain why a complaint for election offenses and petition for disqualification should not be filed against the gubernatorial candidate.