EDITORIAL - Enforcing election rules

Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito kept himself busy yesterday, not with affairs of Laguna where he is the provincial governor, but in shooting a movie that he reportedly wants to enter in the Metro Manila Film Festival at the end of the year.

His more famous uncle, former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, has said Ejercito is likely to bow to a Supreme Court ruling affirming his ouster as governor for overspending in the 2013 campaign. The SC can accept a motion for reconsideration but is unlikely to overturn its own unanimous decision.

The SC ruling affirmed two resolutions of the Commission on Elections, which unseated Ejercito for spending P23 million in excess of the P4.5 million allowed under election rules, or P3 per registered voter in his province. The Comelec did not conclude that there was overspending based on its own painstaking sleuthing. Instead Ejercito’s rival, Edgar San Luis, provided documented evidence to the poll body.

Election rules put caps on campaign spending, but enforcement of the rules has been ineffectual. With its limited resources, the Comelec can go after candidates for overspending only if solid leads are provided, usually by political rivals, or if a formal complaint is filed. But even with complaints, the Comelec often relies on the protesting party to provide the smoking gun, as San Luis did in the case of ER Ejercito.

In the 2013 campaign, Comelec officials crowed that they would tap social media to improve the enforcement of election rules including limits on spending and display of campaign materials. As Ejercito and his relatives have pointed out, however, it looks like they have been singled out for breaking the rules.

Overspending can mean permanent disqualification from holding public office, although a violator can seek a lighter penalty. It’s good that the Comelec is doing its job, but it must not stop at Ejercito. Not only to show that it is impartial in its work, but also to prove that it means business in enforcing its own rules.