Electoral comptroller: Bad Bunny could be fined over political signs

The case of political campaign billboards that lack the required tag saying who or what entity paid for them will be evaluated by a board of assistant electoral comptrollers, who will issue a recommendation.

By The Star Staff

Electoral Comptroller Walter Vélez announced on Wednesday that a fine could be imposed on urban singer Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known as Bad Bunny, and the advertising company bMedia, for publishing political ads without the legally required tag indicating who paid for them.

“Well, the reality is that the advertisement was published without the provisions required by law,” Vélez said in a radio interview with NotiUno 630. “At the time, the company contacted this [public] servant that same day … and I told him that same day: the law, these are the requirements of the law, the announcement is not complying with the law.”

Vélez said he recommended that the company remove the ads and place the corresponding tagline, which should indicate: “This ad is paid for by so-and-so and is not coordinated with political parties.” However, the next day, the ads still did not comply with the law.

The electoral comptroller said the case will be evaluated by a board of assistant comptrollers, who will issue a recommendation. “I do not want to speculate whether there will be a fine, or whether there will not be a fine,” he added. “We have to see what response they will give us.”

Regarding who would be fined, Vélez said there could be dual liability.

“Everything depends on the answer they give us,” he said. “Who was it that didn’t put in the tag? Why wasn’t the tag put in? Why wasn’t the legal requirement complied with? If it was both parties, then both parties could be exposed to a fine.”

The New Progressive Party filed a complaint with the Office of the Electoral Comptroller against bMedia and “so-and-so” for the presentation of several advertisements with messages targeting the party. Bad Bunny subsequently took responsibility for them.

The bMedia Group company responded to the matter by stating that “bMedia is a media company and is not affiliated with any political party, committee or candidate, nor does it endorse the content or messages of its clients’ advertisements.” It added that the advertisements contracted by Bad Bunny were published “under the understanding of prior consultations with the Office of the Electoral Comptroller.”

Vélez, however, said that some advertising companies had warned about the legal requirements.

“I know that there were several agencies … that explained to him that the law required that he had to have the information of who was paying,” Vélez said in the interview with NotiUno 630.

The electoral comptroller emphasized that his role is to ensure that citizens have the correct information about who pays for political ads.

“It is not about restricting the right to free expression …” he said. “It has never been the intention of the Office of the Electoral Comptroller, beyond ensuring that citizens have the correct information.”

The ads were later modified to include the following tagline: “Ad paid for by Benito A. Martínez, yoamorapr@gmail.com. It was not authorized by any aspirant, candidate or political party.”

The case is still under review, and the Office of the Electoral Comptroller is expected to determine in the coming days whether fines will be imposed and if so, on whom.