Politicians in quandary over gift-giving

MANILA, Philippines - Politicians are in quandary over the legality of giving gifts to their constituents this coming Christmas, since the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has not yet issued any ruling on gift-giving by candidates.

Mayors belonging to the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) raised the issue during a dialogue with Comelec officials at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.

Lawyer Ferdinand Rafanan, head of the Comelec’s law department, promised the local officials that Comelec chairman Jose Melo and the commissioners would expedite action to guide politicians on gift giving this coming Yuletide season.

The mayors are concerned that distributing Christmas gifts might constitute vote buying.

“We are giving our constituents gifts like rice and canned goods during Christmas, but as of now we have no guide because there’s no policy ruling from the Comelec,” said Mandaluyong City Mayor Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., president of the LCP and ULAP.

Misinterpretation

Abalos said that some political candidates might misinterpret the giving of gifts as vote buying, which could be used as a basis for filing a disqualification case against other candidates.

The local officials said that aside from Christmas gifts, the distribution of books and other school supplies might also be affected.

He said the one-percent tax they received under the Special Education Fund (SEF), which they distribute to schools under the “Lakbay Aral” program, might be affected as it would be also be misinterpreted as vote buying.

‘Issue policies’

Abalos and other local officials called on the Comelec to issue policies so the candidates could be guided on the difference between “campaigning and purely government functions.”

He pointed out that the problem arose when the Comelec moved the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy from March 29, 2009 to Nov. 30, 2009.

“In the previous elections, the filing of candidacy starts on March 29 and the disqualification of candidates falls on the same day. But when the filing was moved to Nov. 30 the gift-giving during Christmas was affected because it would be a ground for our disqualification,” said Abalos.

Proper procedure

Rafanan also briefed the local officials on the procedures for filing disqualification cases.

“The proper filing of a disqualification complaint is before the elections and not after the political exercise,” said Rafanan.

He explained that once a candidate is proclaimed, it would be difficult for the defeated opponent to unseat him.

Rafanan and officials of Smartmatic conducted a demonstration on how the counting machines work and urged politicians to bring their complaints and other issues regarding the poll automation before the May elections and not after.