High-priced polls
THE ELECTION campaign pending in the country is outrageous. Any way you look at it, our elections are among the most expensive in the world. Consider the 2022 elections. Not only is it vicious and divisive; the recent campaign period was also one of the most expensive in the country’s election history. Candidates, especial those running for national offices, spent billions of pesos.
We have over 100 million population. If these billions of pesos in campaign budget are given to each Filipino (say P1 million for every Juan dela Cruz), theoretically there would be no poor people in the country. The poverty problem is solved! Candidates promising to eradicate poverty should put their money where their mouths are.
There must be a stronger campaign regulation to prevent a ridiculous and out-of-control election spending. Can the Commission on Elections (Comelec) do this?
It is part of the duties of Comelec to make sure that elections are fair to all by ensuring that the candidates do not exceed the limit on the amount of campaign spending and that they follow the campaign regulations. Comelec should implement a strong disclosure requirement for all candidates and it must devise a more effective mechanism to look into the campaign expenses of every candidate.
Under our election laws, every candidate and treasurer of the political party shall, within 30 days after the day of the election, file in duplicate with the offices of the Comelec the full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election. No person elected to any public office shall enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures. It is about time we review and strengthen the laws that govern elections with the objective of providing an adequate campaign regulation. Because the reality on the ground is that politicians embark on heavy political ads and campaign promotion to gain popularity among the voters even before the start of the campaign period, fully aware that their spending would eventually be restricted when the campaign period kicks off.