NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) needs to simplify its procedures for the 45-day election expenditure restriction and respond quickly to pending exception petitions.

Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said in a statement Friday that the Comelec might speed up its decision on applications for exemptions on money releases or payments by setting a seven- to the ten-day limit.

He claimed that the Comelec could forego holding a mandatory hearing to address each individual application and instead approve the request motu proprio (on its own initiative) if and when the applicant has submitted all required documents and the commission has already determined that the request for exemption is valid.

Instead of requiring every applicant to present their case at the Comelec central office in Intramuros, Manila, the poll body might empower its regional or provincial offices to act on petitions in their respective areas.

From March 25 to May 8, 2019, the Comelec’s Resolution No. 10747 prohibits public officials and employees in government offices, government-owned and controlled corporations, and barangay (villages) from releasing, disbursing, or expending public funds, except for specific projects or programs that the commission has exempted or will exempt from the order.

The “apparently prodigious volume of exemption applications” from national government agencies and local government units, according to Villafuerte, will overwhelm the poll body and prevent it from acting on all of these requests in a “timely fashion,” potentially resulting in a “virtual shutdown” of certain national and local government operations this election season.

“Given this blanket ban on the release, disbursement, and expenditure of public funds, our electoral watchdog’s inability to act on all formal requests for applications in a timely manner has effectively shut down certain operations of most agencies and local governments, which have been forced to put some of their programs, projects, and other official activities on hold while waiting for the Comelec to approve their requests for exemption from the ban.”

Many agencies have requested the Comelec’s exemption from the spending ban on their Covid-19 response initiatives, according to Villafuerte, including the Department of Trade and Industry, which wants to continue distributing livelihood kits to typhoon victims and families displaced by the recent eruption of Taal Volcano, and the Department of Agriculture (DA), which wants to continue providing fertilizer and fuel subsidies to crop farmers.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro’s Second District petitioned the Comelec to exempt the distribution of fertilizer and gasoline subsidies to farmers from the spending prohibition, claiming that farmers want the funds to prepare their farms for the rainy season.

He applauded the Comelec’s decision to give financial help to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, but he believes the poll agency should also exempt farm subsidies from the ban.

“Fertilizer and fuel Ayuda (help) for agriculture should also be exempted, in my opinion.” Farmers and PUV drivers are in the same boat. Both industries urgently require the funding support that has been given,” he added in a separate statement released on Friday.

On Comelec orders, the DA halted the disbursement of funds but has already filed an appeal for an exemption.

The decree covers not just cash support to farmers, but also the purchase of farm machinery and implements.

Rodriguez expressed confidence that the poll panel would consider DA Secretary William Dar’s petition favorably.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) published Memorandum Circular No. 7, series of 2022, dated March 7, 2022, with recommendations on providing fuel discounts to farmers and fisherfolk with a budget of PHP500 million.

The fuel discount will be applied to all corn-related machinery, from land preparation to post-harvest activities, as well as motorized boats employed in fishing operations.

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