Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Carvajal: The joke is not funny but tragic By Orlando P. Carvajal Break Point
THE law requiring a candidate to submit an election expense report is a big joke. Far from funny though, it is tragic, a big slice of the tragedy that the Comelec makes of our elections. For what kind of joke is the Comelec playing on us when it makes such a big deal about the reporting requirement but belittles the need for the report to contain no falsehood.
The first time one fails to submit a report, he is fined P1,000 to P30,000. A second offender will be fined P2,000 to P60,000 plus he will be forever disqualified from holding public office.
Aren’t those rather puny sums after what the candidates have overspent during election? And why would a candidate not file such a report when, by the look of things, any report will do. The Comelec has not said anything about stiff fines or heavy punishment like disqualification if a candidate is found to have overspent.
Why does not the Comelec instead take the time and the effort to verify the expenses of candidates and disqualify from office those who won but violated the law on election spending? By the looks of it, every candidate, except the nuisance type, violates the law on campaign spending.
A local politician was asked recently if he is planning to run for the senate at the end of his last term in congress. He answered in the negative and when asked why, he said because he does not have P200,000,000 to spend for a serious run at a senate seat. When asked further why such a big amount, the politician said P130,000,000 alone is to pay for TV ads.
Or does anybody really believe that those running for congress or council only spent three pesos per voter as allowed by law?
So, what is the Comelec doing to enforce this? Absolutely nothing. Every election, practically all candidates violate the law on election spending.
Yet the law on election spending is very critical to our democracy. The law if implemented will give good but poor leaders a chance to serve. The law if implemented will level the playing field.
As things stand, the cards are stacked heavily in favor of the incumbent. He has not only the resources of his office but also the resources earned from commissions on government projects at his disposal.
If we want well-intentioned men and women to serve the community as elected public officials, we have to level the playing field by implementing strictly the law on election spending. Elections are a big joke because the Comelec is doing absolutely nothing to stop overspending. It penalizes non-submission of an expense report but it does not scrutinize the report nor verify its accuracy.
Election overspending is no longer funny. It is in fact tragic. And the clock continues to tick.
