QC candidates’ poll spending in the millions?
The voting populace in that barangay is about 13,000, but only half of them really participated in the local polls, the losing candidate said
Daily TribuneThe voting populace in that barangay is about 13,000, but only half of them really participated in the local polls, the losing candidate said
Following the conclusion of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections last week, candidates are mandated to provide the Commission on Elections their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures within 10 days.
Prior to the polls, the Comelec already announced that the authorized expense of candidates is just five pesos per registered voter.
However, a losing candidate for the BSKE in Quezon City disclosed to Daily Tribune that he lost almost P10 million after the elections as he alleged that his opponent for the barangay chairmanship have spent around P25 million paying the voters P2,000 each during the campaign, and another P3,000 day before the polls.
The voting populace in that barangay is about 13,000, but only half of them really participated in the local polls, the losing candidate said, adding that it's totally different in national or mid-term elections as about one-third of the voters really cast their votes.
"I just want to make a comeback. Because everything is in array. May be our voters now didn't care anymore to have an orderly community. That's why they turned to money and voted those who give them a much bigger amount," said the losing candidate who requested anonymity.
He argued that under the Local Government Code, a barangay chairperson should only receive not less than P1,000 as honoraria and up to P33,843 as Salary Grade 14 per month.
Meantime, the Sangguniang Barangay members, barangay treasurer and barangay secretary are entitled to honoraria of not less than P600 and up to P23,176 for Salary Grade 10.
The candidate said that their barangay this year has at least P74,385,294.65 budget which was passed and approved by the City Council on 3 April 2023 with 10 percent or over P7 million going to the Sangguniang Kabataan.
He added that the fund was sourced from the barangay share from the local government's Real Property Taxes amounting to over P43 million and their share to the Internal Revenue Allotment given by the national government amounting to P21 million.
The others came from their own revenue services offered by the barangay like Community Tax Certificates and permits for businesses. The village has a lot of establishments in their area including two big malls.
A small barangay in District 1, on the other hand, has only P19,632,247.98 approved budget for 2023 which got the council's nod on 15 May this year.
He revealed that at least three candidates there spent P500, P300 and P200 per voter. The one who spent P300 for each voter won, because he was an incumbent official. These are aside from their expenses for each voter during their campaign.
This practice, another losing candidate for barangay chairman alleged, is being passed through the years to SK winning bets, mostly relatives of the barangay chairman.