Part of our Supreme Court’s
resolve on the issue about the oversized ads printed in tarpaulins inside the premises
of the Catholic church was to employ the metaphor on “Jesus” to install order
in all of our electoral processes. Just before the election season kicks-off,
the church in an obvious state of frustration bannered its retaliation against
law-makers who were responsible for the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH)
law. Even before the exercise of the most sacred rights on suffrage by the
people, the church has already rendered that grim judgment of conviction
against those who did not heed the Catholic Church teachings. The anguish of
the church has favored only a few it considered as pro-life, naming them consequently
as their senate bets and stalwarts for the Team Buhay. Some members under Team
Patay never considered it a big deal as they will be elected in office anyway.
Now we know, the church joins
the circus in Philippine politics. In such funfare, we long to see its flock to
last that journey of faith. When the church with promptitude and dispatch
hailed pro-RH politicians as heretics it cannot hide from the fact too of some
accusations on bigotry when in its totality it refused to open it’s door to
other’s opinions. Worse, the war has just began under the helm of Pope Francis
I when beans have already been spilled like lightning bolt, striking hard to
the moral issues the church is facing today. It should thus be “Suum quique” or
to each his own. There will be social justice when the church will mind its own
business and at least refrains from meddling in the affairs of the state. Why
not start by cleaning its own house first? That would be a great idea to start
with. I was born and raised as a Catholic and will stand by my belief but
facing political issues should always be personal to me and I think, I should
not be deprived of that freedom.
Although this deserves a
lampoon consideration, there is a third force coming: the Team Bura. This Team
is crunchy-crazy and sometimes a display of “way paki” type for its dormancy in
off-election season. However this team transforms into what people regard now as
the Commission on Elections. The Comelec has for its part waded through the
challenges by thwarting off both religious and political issues as water under
the bridge to pave way for orderly elections. People have to support Oplan
Langkat to dismantle illegally placed or huge sizes of billboards supporting a
candidate. Like the cardinals praying in the conclave to elect a new pope, the
Filipino people unveil their new set of leaders for 2013. But we hope in the
manner and style of a conclave, the proclamation of candidates will not
belching in protests like a billowing a too heavy black smoke from the chimney
of the Comelec.
***
Comelec Lawyer Danilo Cullo of
Davao made the rounds to explain some provisions embodied in some Comelec
resolutions and shy away from responding to questions which the Commission
still considered as gray areas pending the resolution of the matter with the
Supreme Court. He made it clear, as in the previous elections, that every
candidate shall submit a sworn statement of expenditures within 30 days after
the elections. No candidate is spared from this mandate, which includes the
declaration of expenses during rallies, rekoridas, printing of posters and the
donations received from supporters. The deadline it set for the submission of
the name and specimen signature for the authorized signatory for the watchers
is fixed on or before April 28, 2013.
Extreme
caveat for candidates is the requirements set under Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) Revenue Memo Circ. No. 15-2013, which looks at the assets as well as the
statement of expenditures of each candidate after the election. Candidates were
reminded that it must be backed up by documents like receipts and vouchers in
effect making themas withholding agents. Under this circular, the candidate
should issue a receipt to his supporter-donor and later declare it in the
Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALN). The excess in the
donation can be considered as income which is already taxable. A candidate’s
limit in election spending is only fixed at P3 pesos multiplied by all the
voters in his congressional district. Another important consideration, the
filing fee of disqualification case against a candidate is already waived
(previously it was P 10,000). Accordingly, the only way to stop a proclamation
by the Board of Canvassers of a particular candidate is a pending motion to
suspend proclamation filed with the Comelec, by reason of a disqualification
case. Filing fee is no longer required in the filing of disqualification case
which was previously pegged at P 10 Thousand.
No comments:
Post a Comment