EDITORIAL - Seeds of corruption

Corruption in this country often starts during election campaigns, when politicians pile up debts of gratitude for votes and campaign financing. When those who placed their bets on the winning candidate cash in their chips, the returns can be enormous. Major government projects awarded without bidding, fat commissions for influence peddling, appointments to coveted posts, promotions of relatives and friends in government – these become part of the winning candidate’s repayment scheme. From such deals, several corruption scandals have emerged.

One way of keeping track of these activities is by strictly implementing the law requiring candidates to submit a list of their campaign donors and amounts contributed. There is also a cap on campaign spending, but who’s keeping track of the expenditures? No one in particular, as the Commission on Elections itself has admitted.

Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim is proposing the creation of a permanent department in the poll body that will be tasked specifically to monitor campaign spending. Lim reportedly said the Comelec was overwhelmed with work and could not thoroughly scrutinize each campaign finance statement submitted by candidates. The best that the Comelec could do, he said, was to make sure all candidates – whether they won or lost – filed the statement as required by law.

Those provisions on campaign finance, while limited, are meant to level the playing field, allowing even candidates with meager resources but good qualifications to win elective office. As elections in recent years have shown, however, this provision is generally ignored by candidates, and the Comelec is powerless to enforce compliance.

Some quarters have pointed out that the campaign fund limits have become unrealistic, given the continually booming Philippine voter population and the changing nature of election campaigns, which call for greater spending on advertising. Meanwhile, there has been a continuing effort in the past decade to pass a comprehensive campaign finance law. The biggest resistance to the proposal, however, has come from lawmakers themselves, who see the opaqueness of campaign finance as an opportunity for building personal fortunes. Until this problem is properly addressed, the seeds of corruption will continue to be sown every campaign season.