Koko seeks increase in limits on campaign spending

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has proposed an increase in the limits on campaign spending in time for the start of the campaign period next year.

Pimentel filed Senate Bill 2940, explaining his proposal was intended primarily for local candidates most affected by the spending limits set by the law.

After holding a public hearing yesterday on the bill, Pimentel said there were no objections from all concerned parties, including the Commission on Elections.

“The existing amounts for the ceiling of campaign expenditure were fixed in 1991. There are a lot of local candidates who are facing problems because of their limited number of voters or constituencies,” Pimentel said.

“So they are not able to take advantage of what we call economies of scale. Unlike the national (candidates), the more number of voters, automatically your ceiling also rises,” he added.

Under Senate Bill 2940, candidates for governor and mayor will enjoy an adjustment in their campaign expenditure limit from P3 to P10 per voter.

The same level of increase would be applied to candidates for the House of Representatives.

For the positions of vice governor and vice mayor, the limit would go up from P3 to P8 per voter.

Candidates for members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial council), Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) and Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council) will have a smaller increase from P3 to P5 per voter.

Political parties would see an increase from P5 to P20 per voter, while candidates without a political party or without support from any political party will have an adjustment of P5 to P10.

In the case of national candidates, the bill proposes the following adjustments: president, from P10 to P20 and vice president, from P10 to P15.

There will be no change for candidates for senator and party-list representative, which would remain at P3 per voter.

Pimentel explained the larger adjustments for single-seat positions as compared to multiple-seat positions such as the Senate, where chances of securing a seat are higher.

“Consequently, there is a need to spend more on the campaign for single-seat positions, as said candidates have to concentrate on reaching out and properly presenting platforms to all constituents,” Pimentel said in his bill.

In the case of national candidates, Pimentel explained the amounts assigned to them are multiplied on a nationwide scale by more than 50 million registered voters.

Pimentel said he would push for the immediate approval of the bill so that it could be enacted before the start of the campaign period next year.

He said a copy of his bill would be furnished to the House of Representatives for its consideration.