‘No special treatment for GMA campaign contributions’

There will be no payment of political debts to campaign donors.

Malacañang officials made the assurance yesterday against fears President Arroyo would pay her political debts to her campaign contributors in terms of special government privileges.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye and official campaign spokesman Michael Defensor gave these assurances after lawyers of Mrs. Arroyo submitted their report of campaign expenses and contributions to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Notwithstanding the noble declaration by Palace officials, a Comelec official said Mrs. Arroyo might be compelled to pay a fine of P30,000 for filing a defective statement of election expenses and contributions.

Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano said Mrs. Arroyo should have filed a separate audit report instead of consolidating hers with the administration coalition’s.

Garcillano also stated Mrs. Arroyo spent P333 million, the highest among the five presidential candidates in the May 10 elections.

Among the big time contributors to Mrs. Arroyo’s campaign kitty was her personal lawyer, Pancho Villaraza.

Aside from Villaraza, among the biggest contributors are the Aboitiz family in Cebu which owns one of the largest fleets of commercial and passenger ships in the country.

Defensor told The STAR that Mrs. Arroyo’s report of her campaign donors was "proof of transparency" on the part of her administration.

"Attorney Villaraza has been a close political and personal friend of the President. So it’s not surprising that he donated that much to her campaign," Defensor said.

The President spent a whopping P333.36 million during the 90-day campaign period even as the amount is still below the P420 million ceiling at P10 per registered voter.

Of the total expenses, Mrs. Arroyo reported to the Comelec that she raised P326.48 million in campaign contributions.

Based on the official report submitted to Comelec, Villaraza topped the individual donors to Mrs. Arroyo’s campaign kitty at P30 million.

"We are not hiding anything and our actions will not be influenced by these campaign contributions by way of political gratitude," Defensor told The STAR.

"We could not have listed them (donors) in the first place if that would be the intention of the President (to repay them)," he said.

Bunye, for his part, admitted he has yet to see a copy of Mrs. Arroyo’s report to Comelec.

"That’s an information that came out in the newspapers. What we can assure you is that the President will govern based on the best interest of the people," Bunye told Palace reporters.

"The President has always said that she will govern in the best interest of the people and she would continue to do that," he said.

Bunye said the administration’s Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K-4) has prepared a pro-forma report detailing the list of contributors and items of expenses submitted "in behalf of the President" to the Comelec by her campaign lawyer, former election commissioner Manolo Gorospe a day before the deadline Thursday.

"This report was reviewed by a group and they are sure of what they’re talking about. They are sure about the procedures that were followed and we believe everything will be in order," Bunye said.

Bunye made the statement brushing aside comments made by Garcillano.

In The Same League

Garcillano explained there is a law that distinguishes the filing of statement of a candidate separate from the political party.

"It is separate for the party and separate for the candidate," he said.

"She (Mrs. Arroyo) has to file her separate statement of expenses. She should not even file for the party because there is a treasurer for the party who should file the statement. That is the law. The law states that it should be separate," Garcillano stressed.

Gorospe filed the audit report Wednesday, a day before deadline but it carried the name K-4 and signed by administration party treasurer Antonio Vilar. –with Jose Aravilla, Nikko Dizon