Comelec urged to buy airtime for less known candidates

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday to find a way to level the playing field, especially for lesser known candidates.

He proposed that the Comelec use part of its budget to pay for the airtime of lesser known candidates, who may not be able to shoulder the costs of advertisements on television and radio.

New candidates would have to rely on fewer supporters to pay for their campaign, he added.

Some of the candidates could be exposed to vested interests giving them campaign contributions and might end up influencing their decisions if they win, he said.

Cayetano said big telecommunications networks could allow their users to send funds through their phones much like the load sharing schemes that they presently have.

“I will talk to Smart and Globe and get them to agree to instead of passing load, they can transfer funds to candidates they support,” he said.

It would help stop drug lords and smugglers from contributing to the campaign of some politicians, Cayetano said.

LP accused of spending P50 M on adsBayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño accused yesterday the pro-administration Liberal Party (LP) of having spent at least P50 million on political advertisements on radio and television before the official start of the campaign period for senatorial candidates.

Quoting reliable sources, Casiño said the LP’s budget was P50 million for advertisements before the campaign period had started.

“The Aquino administration is taking advantage of that window before official campaign period, and I’m sure these frontloaded ads would exceed the limits set by the Comelec in terms of air time and budget of only P3 per voter,” he said in Filipino. – With Paolo Romero