“Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation.” – Atifete Jahjaga
One of the very problem of the Philippines is dishonesty. Dishonesty could take a lot of form and it is done by different people whether a government official or not. The recent disqualification of Laguna Gov. Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito for excessive spending to win reelection during the 2013 May elections, should be an eye-opener that government officials and aspiring officials should always be honest, transparent and accountable.
The disqualification complaint against Ejercito was filed by Edgar San Luis, who provided evidence of allegation of vote-buying using an “orange card” where the intent was to corrupt the minds of the voters. He also provided records of massive expenses Ejercito’s camp spent for the election which is in a violation against COMELEC resolution No. 9615, otherwise known as the Rules and Regulation Implementing FAIR ELECTION ACT provides:[1]
SECTION 5. Authorized Expenses of Candidates and Parties. - The aggregate amount that a candidate or party may spend for election campaign shall be as follows:
For candidates - Three pesos (P3.00) for every voter currently registered in the constituency where the candidate filed his certificate of candidacy;
For other candidates without any political party and without support from any political party – Five pesos (P5.00) for every voter currently registered in the constituency where the candidate filed his certificate of candidacy.
For Political Parties and party-list groups – Five pesos (P5.00) for every voter currently registered in the constituency or constituencies where it has official candidates.
And
SECTION 35. Election Offense. - Any violation of RA 9006 and these Rules shall constitute an election offense punishable under the first and second paragraph of Section 264 of the Omnibus Election Code in addition to administrative liability, whenever applicable. Any aggrieved party may file a verified complaint for violation of these Rules with the Law Department of the Commission.
According to the investigation, Ejercito’s overspending stems out on campaign ads placed in a certain media network. The amount of the total contract cost obtained by Ejercito was over and above the set limit of Comelec. The Comelec and the Supreme Court found the evidence with merit and decided that Ejercito was guilty of overspending. Naturally, Ejercito gave a classical response to allegation and said that his disqualification was due to politicking of the liberal party. Even if it was politically motivated, he cannot erase the fact that he spent more than twenty-three million pesos to secure his seat. What he had done was tantamount to cheating and he is ineligible to run the government office of Laguna.
We all know that an elected official who spent that much would have to recover the amount loss and the only possible way to recover such loss is to get the money from the coffers of the government when he secures his seat. ER Ejercito was definitely not Asiong Salonga but more like Asiong Gastador.
[1] http://comelec.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/spa-no-13-306dc.pdf
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