Red Cross asks candidates not to distribute relief goods

BACOLOD City – The local Philippine Red Cross (PRC) advised local candidates to refrain from distributing relief goods during the campaign period of the May 2019 midterm elections.

In a letter, PRC-Negros Occidental Chapter Administrator Rita Benita Mirasol cited Article XII, Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code stating that “no candidate or his or her spouse or member of his family within the second civil degree of affinity or consanguinity shall participate, directly or indirectly, in the distribution of any relief or other goods to the victims of the calamity or disaster.”

Mirasol issued the advise in relation to the recent occurrence of natural and man-made disasters, and the PRC’s preparation on how they will provide support during the campaign period.

She added that during the period, the PRC will seek coordination and cooperation with the city’s local social welfare office and the disaster risk reduction management offices in discharging the provisions set by the Omnibus Election Code.