Angara: Stop government fund releases ‘in aid of elections’

Sen. Edgardo Angara said yesterday the proposed Campaign Finance Reform Act will put an end to government fund releases "in aid of elections," or the financing of favored candidates through various guises such as pork barrel funds and other disbursements.

"It is a sad fact that unlawful or illegal use of public funds by an administration to help the electoral battles of a ruling party is one of the main sources of illicit campaign money," he said.

Angara disclosed that while election laws ban bidding on government projects, they allow the hiring and transfer of personnel, release of money for training and other disbursements of state funds that eventually benefit candidates of the ruling party.

"As there are a thousand and one ways to skin a cat, there are also a thousand and one ways by which an administration channels money to candidates," he said.

The opposition senator said the flow of public funds to administration candidates has to be regulated to level the playing field and prevent political turncoatism.

He lamented that elected candidates from opposition parties almost always change sides after an election because of the ruling party’s resources.

"We have to urgently plug the loopholes which a sitting government can always use to tap public funds in helping its candidates," Angara said.

The Campaign Finance Reform Act and a complementary bill on political parties seek to provide state subsidy to parties through matching funds for both organizational work and for elections.

Both measures also propose to institute safeguards to prevent the flow of money from drug lords, gambling lords, oligarchic families and vested financial interests into electoral campaigns.

Meanwhile, the Senate took a big step on Monday night to promote Muslim-Christian relations by making Eid al-Fitr, or the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, a legal holiday.

After a unanimous vote at the committee level, the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws and electoral reforms, chaired by Angara, endorsed the approval of the bill making Eid al-Fitr a legal holiday.

Aside from Angara, other principal authors of the measure are Senators Noli de Castro, Juan Flavier, Loren Legarda, Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Gregorio Honasan.

The Eid al-Fitr celebration, which moves from one Gregorian month to another, is on the first day of the 10th month of the Muslim calendar.

"Eid al-Fitr is a day of worship and celebration and thanksgiving. Solidarity, brotherhood and unity on a universal scale are also the essence of the celebration," Angara said in a statement.

Angara said that while the Philippines is the only Christian nation in Asia, the gesture would dramatize Filipinos’ respect for other religions and creeds.

"The declaration of this festival as a national holiday is significant because it will promote a deeper appreciation and respect for the distinct Muslim heritage," he added.