THE upcoming nationwide elections to select the next set of local government officials as well as a new batch of senators is just around the corner.
All of the candidates vying for local and national positions are now well into the thick of campaigning to win the nods of their respective voters and a chance to become a public servant. Right now, we have a situation where oodles of money is literally changing hands at lightning speed either to buy votes, hire and employ campaign personnel, acquire and purchase campaign materials and equipment, dole outs for solicitations and donations, subscribe to paid advertisements thru the Tri-Media, and even employ internet savvy people for campaign tactics online.
It is now established fact that there can be no shortage of money during and even immediately before the start of the campaign period in an election. A political candidate who wishes to run for public office but has very limited financial resources to mount a credible electoral campaign has very slim chances of victory when pitted against those more wealthy candidates who can spend as much as they want in conducting their campaigns.
This is the sad reality of our politics in the country where most of our leaders are very wealthy and for a lot of them seek only to become elected public officials for the purpose of protecting and preserving their own selfish vested interests.
How to change the situation?
Well for starters, why not let the government subsidize the campaign of all the candidates and thus set a uniform standard for expenses and the amount to be spent during the entirety of the campaign.
Take for instance during a mid-term election where the national government can appropriate a certain amount for all local government units and specifying the amount to be allocated to each candidate for a particular position and office.
For example, all those candidates running for mayor in a certain city or municipality shall be equally allotted specific amounts that the local government will spend for advertisement in the tri-media, internet and for campaign materials and equipment.
At no time will the mayoralty candidates be allowed to spend any of their personal money instead it will be the government who will spend for them. In that way also, all credible and qualified candidates whether they are rich or poor will be on an equal footing at least where expenses are concerned during their period to campaign.
What then will be the role of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in relation to the candidates? Aside from establishing their qualifications as provided by law the Comelec will ensure that no candidate will get to spend his own personal money to campaign and for that purpose will have to issue the necessary orders for that prohibition. Any violation will mean the outright disqualification of the erring candidate.
Now to help the government in its campaign expenses for the candidates a law must be enacted that would limit the number of candidates for a particular elective position.
To illustrate for the position of a representative in the Lower House in Congress the number of candidates for a particular district should be limited to three or four. This can also be applied to the position for governor, vice governor, mayor and vice mayor. For the position of board members or city/municipal councilors the number of candidates should be limited to twice the required number to fill all positions.
The proposal to allow the government to spend for the campaign of the candidates will certainly provide an opportunity for those potential leaders who have the welfare of the people in their heart but are hard pressed to conduct a credible campaign during election time.