Poll overspending cases
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has simultaneously dismissed more than 1,000 cases on poll campaign overspending in connection with the 2010 and 2013 national and local elections.
The junking of the long-pending cases followed a recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling that pointed to the Comelec’s “inordinate delay” in the resolution of cases.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, no candidate should spend on their campaign more than the amount set by law.
Republic Act (RA) No. 7166 provides that a candidate for President and Vice President is allowed to spend P10 for each registered voter, while local candidates can spend P3 for every elector.
Those found guilty face one to six years imprisonment, disqualified from holding public office and stripped of their right to vote during political exercises.
And as a well-meaning Filipino, we doff our hat to Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia for promising to act on all poll-related cases that they inherited from previous officials.
In the view of even the ordinary citizens, there are two major problems confronting today’s Philippine national, local and even barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
These are the commission of electoral irregularities, including the resort to fraudulent practices, and the huge and lavish spending in elections, according to poll observers.
But the problem is the extreme difficulty in establishing guilt on the part of the vote-buyers and vote-sellers.
“Talagang mahirap matigil ang pamimili at pagbebenta ng boto sa Pilipinas. Kasi ang mapapatunayang vote-buyer at vote-seller ay parehong makukulong,” chuckled a new voter.
But the Comelec, a Constitutional body like the Commission on Audit, deserves the support of the Filipino people, particularly the electorate, for trying hard to unclog its dockets.
Kasi palapit na ang barangay at Sangguniang Kabataan elections at ang May 2025 national and local polls.
