Senator Lito Lapid filed on Monday a bill seeking to increase the authorized campaign expenses of all candidates and political parties, citing the effects of inflation on the cost of electoral campaign materials.In filing Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2460, Lapid proposed to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 7166, otherwise known as the Synchronized National and Local Elections and for Electoral Reforms Act of 1991.Under RA 7166, the spending limit of every candidate for president and vice president is PHP10 and for other candidates is PHP3 for every voter for the last three decades, which Lapid described as not applicable in the current situation.Lapid said SBN 2460 seeks to empower the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to periodically update these limits in response to changing economic conditions.’Mahigit tatlong dekada na po mula nang isabatas ang RA 7166, at ang tatlong piso hanggang sampung pisong limit na campaign expenses kada botante ay wala na pong halaga ngayon (It’s been more than three decades since RA 716
6 was enacted, and the PHP3 to PHP10 campaign expenses limit per voter is worthless now),’ Lapid said.He noted that the purchasing power of the Philippine peso has diminished, leading to an increase in the cost of various campaign-related activities, including advertising, transportation, and campaign materials.Under his proposal, the candidates’ campaign expense limits would be PHP50 for president, PHP40 for vice president and PHP30 for senator, district representative, governor, vice governor, board member, mayor, vice mayor, councilor, and party-list representative for every registered voter.’By updating these allowable expenses, we aim to make the campaign budget more realistic and reflective of the prevailing prices of goods and services,’ Lapid said in his explanatory note.’This proposal has long been overdue, having been filed since the 16th Congress. Had this been passed during the previous Congresses, candidates in the coming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) this coming October 30 w
ould benefit from it,’ he added.He said the outdated allowable campaign expenses may encourage candidates and political parties to underreport their actual campaign expenditures and undermine the transparency and accountability of the electoral process.’By adjusting the allowable expenses to align with current economic realities, we intend to minimize, if not eliminate, any motivation to falsify campaign expenditure reports,” Lapid said.The bill authorizes the Comelec, in consultation with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the National Economic and Development Authority and the Philippine Statistics Authority, to adjust the campaign expense limits per registered voter based on the inflation rate and consumer price index.The Comelec is also mandated to issue implementing rules and regulations.
Source: Philippines News Agency