MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday clarified that it does not have the authority to approve political advertisements on television following an ad depicting children which aired on Thursday night.

Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said that the poll body only regulates the duration of political ads on TV.

"Under our rules kasi, and nire-regulate ng Comelec ay 'yung duration ng broadcast ads, specifically on the per station basis kaya meron tayong ad time limits pero hindi tayo nagre-regulate the content," Jimenez said in an ambush interview.

Jimenez added that the Comelec does not have jurisdiction over the content of political ads, particularly the actors portraying the scenes. He added that the ad should not even be surprising.

"Sa dinami-dami ng eleksyon na pinagdaanan. Ang dami natin nakikita na mga negative ads talaga and as far as the actors, I don't think that there are any new categories of actors. Children, old people lahat yan nagamit na sa mga ads ng lahat ng mga kandidato yata," he said.

"These ads are not submitted to the Comelec nor are they required to be submitted to the Comelec."

Meanwhile, the Movie Television and Review Classification Board (MTRCB) insisted that it is not responsible for the airing of political TV ads.

The board said in a statement that the poll body has sole jurisdiction to regulate political TV ads under Republic Act 9006 or the Fair Elections Act. — Video by Levi A. So