This is in response to a recent article published on Inquirer.Net about how politicians overspent in the 2007 Senatorial Elections for their media campaigns. This was pointed out by election watchdog group called Pera’t Pulitika. Apparently they got their data from a credible source – AC Nielsen, one of the premiere research agencies in the world. The cap is P135M and that’s already a lot of cash to spend on media if you ask me. According to the article, Prospero Pichay led the group of over-spenders hitting an estimated media spending of P224M. The other senators who overspent were Villar, Arroyo, Angara, Defensor, and Legarda. The total combined spending of these 6 senators reached more than P700M, and that’s just for a Senatorial campaign in a 90-day period. With this in mind, I pose 3 questions. The first one is how the hell will these politicians get an ROI for this major investment? The second one is how much more money will be spent on 2010 when we see some of the richest men on this country battle it out for the Presidency? Lastly, why weren’t the violators sanctioned?
It’s impossible that all of these candidates throw away money on a whim. There’s definitely a mechanism there that allows them to get back the money they invested and even earn more. The P30,000-P45,000 monthly salary won’t even make a dent on the total amount of cash they invested in their campaign.
For 2010, the spending has begun as early as now. Senate President Villar’s face is plastered on billboards for all of his major mall properties. He also ran a media campaign on helping OFWs on TV, Print, and Radio. This is a direct buy from him and I’m sure that already costs millions of pesos which won’t be counted for the supposed P135M limit come the formal campaign season. Other aspiring candidates are taking the more cost-efficient route by being product endorsers for major consumer companies like Lucida and Tide. Oh – let’s not forget MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando. That’s even worse since the budget for his posters and tarpaulins come from the pockets of the Filipino people. By the way guys, there are circulating reports that Bayani’s posters are being rolled out to provinces and cities outside of his jurisdiction as MMDa Chairman.
Another alarming situation here is that the COMELEC relies solely on the reports made and submitted by the candidates themselves. This is stupid because it’s literally asking the wolves to guard the sheep. They should hire external 3rd party agencies to monitor, evaluate, and recommend legal action against politician who violate the election campaign rules.
2010 will arguably be the most expensive campaign in Philippine history. Unimaginable amounts of cash will be spent to increase the chances of these candidates for winning the top position in the land. So… how much is the Presidency worth? If they’re spending as early as now then it’s really safe to say that it’s right up there in the Billions.
This will be very interesting to monitor. 
wauks, dont forget to mention the cash they pay “under the table”. hay nako Pilipinas nga naman…
it’s kinda misleading coz most of the money spent are from donations. So they really dont have to earn it back while in office.
There are more favors than donations, I think.
The Bayani Fernando Posters are here in Bukidnon Province.