EVEN WEEKS BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE formal campaign season, several politicians, especially presidential candidates, have been running fancy political advertisements trumpeting their virtues. Many of the ads are extensive, even running beyond the standard 30-seconder, such as Manuel Villar’s, and fueling speculations as to who are funding them. The standard line is that they are paid for by “Friends of [the candidate].” And that should lay the speculations to rest.
But does it really? The fact is that the catch-all phrase has become a cliché that does not satisfy the requirements of transparency. In fact, it has merely succeeded in obscuring further the real identities of the people who have contributed to a candidate’s campaign. It has merely served to disguise the shadowy figures financing a candidacy. It does not anymore serve the ends of clean and honest elections.
While the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines deals extensively with electoral contributions and expenditures, the lengthiness now seems to be there to impress rather than ensure transparency. For example, Section 98 demands that a contributor must use his real name, obviously to discourage dummies or proxies and prohibits any candidate from receiving a contribution or recording the same under any name other than that of the person who actually made the contribution. The following section says the contributor should report his contribution not later than 30 days after the election. Despite the elaborate regulations, it is quite easy for the contributor to ignore them. The more elaborate they are, the greater the incentive for not filing the declaration.
In the same manner, the rather elaborate system of checking campaign expenditures merely serves to forestall any hope of transparency. Aside from the candidate declaring his expenditures, business firms contracted to provide the services and supplies for which the expenditures are made are required to file declarations.
The fact that the declarations have to be made after the election does not contribute to ensuring the fair and intelligent conduct of the election. The measures to make the election sound credible take place after the balloting, when they will not have any influence on the voting. It seems ironic that pre- and post-election, the Comelec is at a loss on how to implement fair and honest elections. Considering the inability of the poll body, for instance, to stop premature campaigning, how is it going to run after politicians and donors if they have accepted or made illegal campaign contributions based on their respective declarations? That is, if they have filed at all truthful declarations?
In the case of candidates for president, it is doubly important that the electorate know right now who are contributing to their campaigns. If it is important, for example, for the electorate to know what sort of family a candidate comes from, the spouse he keeps, and the children he tends to, it should be even more important for them to know the sources of his campaign funds and the kind of friends he keeps.
It is important that the electorate know the identities of a candidate’s “friends” during, not after, the election campaign. This would stop shadowy groups from supporting a candidate who is perceived to be a shoo-in for a position in order to be in his good graces and collect—or cash in—on the debt when he’s elected in office. It would also check special interest groups from candidate-shopping, that is, contributing to opposing candidates so as to keep all the bases covered. By identifying themselves, lobbyists and other interests would be forced to put their money where their mouth is. It would also protect businesses and other interests from being forced by a candidate to make contributions even if the former do not believe in him. Identifying the names of campaign contributors would ensure more transparency and a more intelligent vote.
Too often, Philippine elections are perceived as a carnival, passing diversions and escapist entertainment from the reality of a sham democracy. Those glossy political ads on broadcast merely serve to reinforce that perception, and more: they impress upon us that our elections are financial high-wire acts that are fueled by commercial interests often masquerading as political support—in short, as warm and cozy friendships. We ought to be told who these “friends” are. Then we would know truly the candidates and what they stand for.
Thanks PJ for the journal! I love the smooth blank pages. Here's to more emo notes and feeling artsy sketches!
