Comelec eyes new limit on campaign expenditures

MANILA, Philippines - Candidates in the 2016 national and local elections may be able to legally spend more in their campaign, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

Chairman Sixto Brillantes said the poll body intends to adopt a new limit in the campaign expenditures for candidates in the 2016 elections. 

“We already have a proposal wherein we will not set a limit in the law, but we shall have a ceiling based on the economic condition on a particular timeframe prior to the election period,” he said.

They have already submitted their proposal, he added.

Brillantes said they have proposed to set a limit on the spending of every candidate just before the start of the campaign period.

They will consider the consumer price index and other economic indicators, and consult with the stock market players and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas before setting the campaign spending limit, he added.

Brillantes said the Comelec is also proposing to increase the campaign spending limit in the next elections.

“There are many proposals in Congress. If they want to consider the others also, we are okay with it as long as they don’t increase the limit too much,” he said.

Under existing regulation, every candidate for president and vice president is allowed to spend P10, while other candidates can spend P3 for every voter. Their political parties may also spend P5 for them.

Independent candidates, or those without any political party and without support from any political party may be allowed to spend P5 for every voter.

The existing rule is no longer realistic since the peso value when the law was passed in 1991 has already eroded, the Comelec said.