EDITORIAL - Curbing premature campaigning

Ideally, an election campaign should be brief, with candidates clearly presenting their positions on raging issues as well as their plans in case they win. Ideally, strong campaign finance regulations must govern this brief period, with election authorities capable of enforcing the rules and compelling transparency in campaign fund raising and expenditures.

The Philippine situation, however, is far from ideal, with lawmakers strongly resisting every effort to regulate campaign finance, and incumbent officials using their positions to project themselves to voters long before the official start of the campaign period. Billboards in which “epal” public officials claim personal credit for tax-funded projects are clear attempts at name recall, in aid of re-election. So are streamers in which politicians greet the public on every occasion including graduation season.

For the 2016 race, there are valid concerns that incumbent officials may attempt to take credit even for the conditional cash transfer program. The World Bank, which provides funding support for the program, must put its foot down and oppose any move to turn the CCT into a partisan undertaking.

In an effort to curb epal activities, the Commission on Elections is proposing the extension of the official campaign period to 119 days from the current 90 for national candidates and 45 days for local bets. The official election period will start at the same time for both national and local candidates. If the plan pushes through, it will expand the period during which the Comelec can crack down on epals and premature campaigning.

Not surprisingly, lawmakers and other politicians are strongly opposing the proposal, arguing that it would mean bigger campaign expenses. In fact their expenditures and efforts to win votes start long before the official campaign kicks off, and even before they file their certificates of candidacy. The Comelec simply wants to improve its capability to curb premature campaigning. Even if the proposal gets nowhere, the Comelec deserves an A for trying.