Share this
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Yahoo
Googlize this
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Blogwatch.ph stress the importance of campaign finance because candidates need to be transparent in Election Campaign sourcing and the true extent of their elections spending as this would impact directly on the candidates’ governance upon assumption to office. The first series laid out sources of campaign funds. With President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo bid for Congress, will she use taxpayer's money that was allegedly used to bankroll her 2004 campaign? Farmers’ groups allege that the money was diverted to Arroyo’s campaign. Let's not overlook candidate's campaign finance in the upcoming elections.
The second series is the Expenditure Side of Election Finance. I bet some of you have seen it before. During election day, a jeepney load of voters were being herded off to the precints with no clear indication if the fare was paid or not. Giving free food, transportation are just a few of the prohibitions on the day preceding the election, and on the day of election that candidates and political parties cannot give, free of charge, to any person. The campaign tax is one way that BIR will monitor candidate spending, taking five percent of the cost paid by candidates or their contributors for campaign materials. In addition to this, according to Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, the tax scheme will serve to monitor spending in next year’s candidates. The question is will they even report their expenses but that's another topic to be discussed in another article.
Let's take a look on how candidates and political parties may lawfully incur expenses on the following.
- Lawful election propaganda
- Traveling expenses of the candidates and campaign personnel and for personal expenses incident thereto
- Compensation of campaign workers
- Telegraph and telephone tolls, postage, freight, and express delivery charges
- Stationery, printing and distribution of printed matters relative to candidacy
- Employment of watchers at the polls
- Rent, maintenance and furnishing of campaign headquarters, office, or place of meetings
- Political meetings and rallies and the use of sound systems, lights, and decorations during said meetings and rallies
- Newspaper, radio, television, and other public advertisements
- Employment of counsel
- Copying and classifying list of voters, investigating and challenging the right to vote of persons registered in the; or
- Printing sample ballots in such color, size, and maximum number as may be authorized by the Commission.
Only the following persons are authorized to incur election expenditures:
- Candidates themselves
- Treasurer of Political Parties
- Persons authorized in writing by candidate or treasurer.
| Before entering into contract, business firms or contractors to whom electoral expenditures are incurred must require every agent of a candidate or political party to present a written authority from the agent’s principal authorizing him to incur electoral expenditures in behalf of such candidate or treasurer. |
Expenditure Limits per registered voter in the constituency a candidate is running:
- Php 3.00 – individual candidate supported by political party
- Php 5.00 – individual candidate not supported or nominated by political party
- Php 5.00 – Political Parties
- Php 10.00 – Candidates for President or Vice President
Items included in computing the expenses of a candidate for the purpose of determining compliance with the expenditure limits:
- Expenditures in cash and in kind
- Use of equipments, facilities, and other paraphernalia owned by candidate, and contributor, the value of which must be assessed
- Expenses incurred by Political Parties for candidates
Items NOT included in the computation:
- Free service rendered by volunteers
- Employment of counsel
- Copying and classifying list of voters, investigating and challenging the right to vote of persons registered in the; or
- Printing sample ballots in such color, size, and maximum number as may be authorized by the Commission
| Election propaganda, whether on television, cable television radio, newspapers or any other medium, is allowed for all bona fide candidates and parties subject to the limitation on authorized expenses of candidates. |
| During election period, bona fide candidates shall be charged discounted rates of thirty percent (30%) for television, twenty percent (20%) for radio and ten (10%) for print over the average rates charged during the first three quarters of the calendar year preceding the elections. |
For the purpose of inducing someone to vote for or against a candidate or to withhold his or her vote, a person CANNOT, directly or indirectly:
- Give money or anything of value to any person, association, corporation, entity, or community
- Offer money or anything of value to any person, association, corporation, entity, or community
- Spend money in favor of any other person, corporation or any entity
- Offer to spend money to the same person, corporation or entity
- Cause expenditure to be made upon any person, corporation, or entity
- Give employment to any person
- Offer to give employment to any person
- Promise employment to any person
- Give franchises and grants to any person
- Offer to give franchises and grants to any person
| No person can solicit or receive money, gifts, or anything of value from any candidate for election campaign |
Candidates are prohibited, during campaign period and on the day or before the day of the election, from:
- Making donations, contributions, gifts in cash or in kind
- Undertaking or contributing to, the construction or repair of roads, bridges, school buses, puericulture centers, medical clinics and hospitals, churches or chapels cement pavements, or any structure for public use, or for the use of religious or civic organization.
Five hours before and after a public meeting, on the day preceding the election, and on the day of election, candidates and political parties cannot give, free of charge, to any person:
- Transportation
- Food or drinks
- Anything of value
No person is allowed to accept transportation, food, drinks, and anything of value, from any candidate or political party on the same occasion.
Rest assured there are now private monitoring organizations that focus on Electoral Reform Advocacy. They will ensure that Election Finance Laws will be complied with. Watch out for the launch of this monitory project.
Be vigilant. Read up on the Basic Guide to the Laws and Rules Governing Election Finance in the Philppines" or (Download the ebook on Basic Guide to the Laws and Rules Governing Election Finance in the Philippines)
More Articles on Campaign Finance to follow soon :Recording and Reportorial Requirements, Use of Public Funds and Properties, and Effects of Violation of Election Finance Laws and Rules.
Related Articles
(These were summarized and compiled by Luie Tito Guia of the Lawyers League for Liberty or Libertas.)
Photo: “10 Pesos - S3is10Pesos” by Daniel Go, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Students are out-of-school because th...
—2012-02-04 09:01:52 ...
lol lol lol lol lolo muh 1
—2012-02-01 18:19:22 ...
The press and the Corona impeachment
—2012-01-30 09:35:06 ...
The press and the Corona impeachment
—2012-01-30 09:34:42 ...
CJ Corona is no Mary Magdalene and no...
—2012-01-27 10:24:42 ...