In a five-page petition, Baraquel said Arroyo has been using the government's machinery and resources in her advertisements in Pampanga.
“The use of taxpayers' money for one's vanity ads, especially if they are designed to court voters, is wrong and should be declared illegal by the Comelec,” the party-list representative said.
Arroyo's ads, she stressed, have been violating the essence of the Fair Elections law.
“That she could place multimillion-peso ads using public funds is proof that she can and she is willing to use the resources and machinery of the government to illegally influence the election,” Baraquel said.
“In an unprecedented move slammed by her political foes, Ms Arroyo filed her certificate of candidacy for Congress on December 1, becoming the first sitting President to run for a local post after serving years as the country’s chief executive,” she said.
The political opposition said Arroyo’s candidacy was just the first stage in a plot to install her as House Speaker and move for a shift to a parliamentary form of government.
