Pimentel seeks increase in poll spending limit

MANILA, Philippines - A Senate bill seeks to increase the allowable poll spending amounts for every voter to keep up with the high cost of printing campaign posters and mass media advertisements.

Citing inflation, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III urged his colleagues yesterday to pass Senate Bill 2940 aimed at amending Republic Act 7166 and increase the poll spending limit per voter per candidate.

“For 20 years, the amounts limiting the expenses of candidates and political parties remained the same,” Pimentel said in his explanatory note of SB 2940. 

He said candidates had difficulty limiting their spending in accordance with law, because the prices of materials and their printing and reproduction, mass media advertisements (now allowed), transportation and other operational expenses have increased in the past two decades.

The senator cited the impact of inflation on the amounts contained under the law when it was passed in 1991.

The issue on poll spending was highlighted when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualified Laguna governor Emilio Ramon Ejercito for spending more than P6 million for television advertisements alone during the campaign.

Ejercito was allowed only to spend P4.5 million. Pimentel said the province of Laguna has 1,525,522 registered voters.

In filing the measure, Pimentel cited Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) statistics, which showed there was a 259.5 percent increase in the prices of commodities from 1991 to 2015. The value of one peso in 1991 is now equivalent to P3.60.

The senator said according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the P3 used for election-related spending in 1991 would be equivalent to P9.10 in 2016. 

“These amounts show that the allowable limits for campaign spending are really outdated, most especially for local candidates who cannot take advantage of the economies of scale in their purchase of materials, printing requirements and even mass media placements,” Pimentel said.

He said the candidates have been struggling to spend within the allowable amounts provided by law. 

As of July 2015, the Comelec is handling 1,400 cases related to campaign overspending.

For candidates with political parties, Pimentel recommended that the poll spending for presidential bets be raised from P10 to P20 per voter, vice president P10 to P15, congressmen (legislative and party-list) P3 to P10, governor and mayor P3 to P10; vice governor and vice mayor P3 to P8 and provincial, city and municipal councils P3 to P5.

The poll spending limit for those vying for senators is retained at P3. 

For political parties, the spending limit should be increased to P20 from P5, while candidates without political party affiliation is P10 from P5 for every voter registered in the constituency where the certificate of candidacy is filed.  Candidates without support from any political party can also spend P10 per voter.