The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said that the spending cap it enforced on candidates during the 2010 elections is “outdated.”

According to the Fair Elections Act, as promulgated in Comelec Resolution 8944, candidates in political parties running for president and vice-president are only allowed to spend P10 per registered voter, while other candidates also with parties are allowed P3 per voter.

"[There is a] gap in the law that predisposes people to break that law because it is not reasonable," said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

“Where have you seen a reasonable campaign where the allowance is only P10 per voter? How do you pull that off?” he asked. “There are too many Filipinos and the most efficient way to reach them is too expensive: through the use of the mass media.”

With around 50.7 million registered voters in the 2010 elections, this means that campaign expenditures of those running for president and vice-president should only add up to P507 million.

According to the statements of contributions and expenditures submitted by the Nacionalista Party, its standard-bearer Senator Manuel Villar spent P228,701,229 for his campaign. His running mate Senator Loren Legarda spent P174,482,900.61.

President-elect Benigno Aquino III’s Liberal Party spent a total of P158,103,535.21 while the administration’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD party spent P130,684,725.31.

Jimenez however, said that the submitted numbers were "fantastic" and "ridiculous," and that it is likely that the actual figures are much higher.

“I wouldn’t say someone broke the rule. But what I do see is, it seems to me, that their expenditures are likely to be much higher than reported by some candidates,” he said. “It’s a case of what you see with your own eyes versus what appears on paper.”

The poll body has yet to make a recommendation to amend its self-admitted outdated price caps.

"We can then [upon receiving a recommendation], if we accept the recommendation, submit it to Congress. Alternatively, Congress can hold its own technical working group," Jimenez said.