LETTER-COMPLAINT

Date: March 14, 2017

From: Lorenzo P. Espacio

Premier
Union of Students for the Advancement of Democracy

To: Dom Martin G. Raises

Chief Commissioner
Ateneo Commission on Elections

Re: Request for an Investigation on the Unofficial Affiliations of Presidential Candidate

Regis Andanar and Vice Presidential Candidate Roxy Trillanes

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To the Ateneo Commission on Elections through its Chief Commissioner Dom Martin G.
Raises:

I, Lorenzo P. Espacio, request a FORMAL INVESTIGATION of the actions of

independent Sanggunian presidential candidate Regis Andanar and independent
Sanggunian vice presidential candidate Roxy Trillanes.

The Party believes that presidential candidate Regis Andanar and vice presidential
candidate Roxy Trillanes are violating Article III, Section 4 of the Provisional 2017 Electoral
Code, which unequivocally states, Candidates for President and Vice President are
prohibited from joining coalitions. While the Memorandum on the BUKS coalition (Memo
No. 2017005) does not list Andanar and Trillanes as members of the coalition, it has become
apparent that Andanar and Trillanes have been campaigning for and with BUKS.

In Article III, the Electoral Code states the following guidelines to coalition
campaigning: Members of the same coalition can share campaign materials (Section 5a)
and The symbolic representation of coalitions shall be limited to the use of their coalition
name. Their name shall serve as their logo and shall be used for all their promotional
materials. Such name and their chosen tagline shall not be affiliated with any political party.
Coalitions can then refer to themselves by the name they adopt (Section 5c).

Andanars and Trillanes promotional materials make use of the same color scheme,
same design, and similar taglines, indicating that they and BUKS have the same campaign
strategies formulated by the same campaign team.1 On their respective Facebook pages, both

candidates use Atin ang kinabukasan, which is in direct reference to BUKS and is

reminiscent of their tagline Yakapin ang BUKS para sa bukas.2 Their social media
accounts have also endorsed BUKS candidates, even using their hashtag
#YakapinAngBukas.3 Andanar and Trillanes have also been campaigning as a tandem on

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ANNEX A: Similarities in promotional materials, as seen on their social media handles
2
ANNEX B: Similarities in taglines, as seen on their social media handles
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ANNEX C: Screencaps of campaigning for BUKS on Trillanes and Andanars respective Facebook pages

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social media, despite filing their candidacies as independents.4 More incriminatingly, a
corkboard along EDSA Walk has posters of Andanar and Trillanes displayed alongside
BUKS-affiliated candidates,5 which clearly exhibits the similarities in their promotional
materials and clearly demonstrates that while Andanar and Trillanes are not members of
BUKS, they are campaigning with them and making it to look this way to the voting public.

The Party believes that while Andanar and Trillanes did not join BUKS, they are
still in direct violation of the spirit of Article III, Section 4. Indeed, Andanar and Trillanes did
have to join BUKS on paper to be able to campaign for and with them, following the
coalition campaign guidelines stipulated in Article III, Section 5.

SUMMARY

The Electoral Code stipulates that candidates for the presidential and vice presidential
positions are prohibited from joining coalitions, and it also states guidelines for how
coalitions may conduct their campaigns. On paper, presidential candidate Regis Andanar and
vice presidential candidate Roxy Trillanes are not members of the BUKS coalition;
however, their promotional materials and campaign conduct have indicated that they are
campaigning for and with BUKS, which is in direct violation of the spirit of Article III,
Section 7 of the Provisional 2017 Electoral Code.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed that the Ateneo Commission on Elections grant the
Petitioners request for investigation of presidential candidate Regis Andanar and vice
presidential candidate Roxy Trillanes with the objective of reviewing their actions with
regard to their electoral campaign.

The Petitioner also prays for such other relief, just and equitable, under the premises.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.

Quezon City, March 14, 2017.

By:

LORENZO P. ESPACIO
Petitioner
Premier, Union of Students for the Advancement of Democracy

LYSSA MINETTE MARQUEZ

Counsel
Solicitor General, Union of Students for the Advancement of Democracy

4
ANNEX D: Screencaps of their campaigning as a tandem, as seen on Andanars and Christan Dys (BUKS
founder) social media handles
5
ANNEX E: Photo of EDSA Walk corkboard, taken March 13, 2017

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ANNEXES A and B: Similarities in promotional materials and taglines, as seen on their social media handles

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ANNEX C: Campaigning for BUKS on Trillanes and Andanars respective Facebook pages

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ANNEX D: Campaigning as a tandem, as seen on Andanars and Christan Dys (BUKS founder) social media
handles

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ANNEX E: Photo of EDSA Walk corkboard, taken March 13, 2017