CHECK THIS PAGE FOR PCIJ's INVESTIGATIVE AND IN-DEPTH REPORTS ON THE MAY 2022 ELECTIONS.
March 25
A complaint for alleged electioneering was filed on March 25, 2022 before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
The progressive Makabayan bloc of party-list groups in the House of Representatives, which have been a target of serial red-tagging by members of the task force, said the latest attack from Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy constituted “partisan political activity,” “political advertisement” and “election propaganda” under Section 1 of Comelec Resolution No. 10730.
Badoy and the NTF-Elcac, in their official social media accounts on March 14, accused Vice President and presidential candidate Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo of “making a pact with the devil, the communist terrorist CPP NPA NDF” after she received the endorsement of the Makabayan Bloc.
Partisan political activity refers to acts promoting the election or defeat of candidates to a public office, including posting content on social media. Political advertisement and election propaganda refer to materials on display, in print, and in broadcast that are intended to draw the attention of the public or a segment thereof to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of candidates.
The Makabayan bloc said Badoy and NTF-Elcac “willfully and willingly issued… fake news… to campaign … [and] intimidate the public for them to refrain or desist from participating in campaign rallies… or from casting of votes in favor of said candidates.”
Such “negative campaigning” by government institutions and officials against party-list groups and candidates including Robredo during the election period is a “criminal act” under the Omnibus Election Code, the group said.
Three other complaints were filed against Badoy on March 23 before the Office of Ombudsman by activists and concerned citizens. They said her red-tagging of Robredo and Makabayan was a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. They called for her immediate suspension. -- Kenneth Roland Guda
Check this PAGE for PCIJ's investigative and in-depth reports on the May 2022 elections.
March 14
Marcos maintains wide lead in February survey
Former senator Bongbong Marcos, the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, mantained a wide lead over his rivals for the presidency, based on a poll of 2,400 respondents conducted by polling firm Pulse Asia.
Sixty percent of the respondents said they would vote for Marcos if elections were held during the survey period, February 18-23, 2022.
Marcos was followed by Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo and Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko" Domagoso, who got the support of 15% and 10% of the respondents, respectively.
The survey numbers did not move compared with the January survey given the error margin of 2 percentage points.
LATEST PULSE ASIA PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE SURVEY: FEBRUARY 2022
SCORES AND RANKS: PULSE ASIA PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE SURVEYS (DEC. 2020 - FEB. 2022)
Check this PAGE for PCIJ's investigative and in-depth reports on the May 2022 elections.
March 9
Anakpawis campaigners arrested in Cavite a week after red-tagging controversy
by Kenneth Roland Guda
At least 11 members of Anakpawis progressive party-list group who were campaigning for Vice President and presidential candidate Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo were arrested on March 10 in two separate incidents in Cavite, a vote-rich province neighboring the country’s capital.
Former Anakpawis representative Ariel Casilao, the group’s national president, said the two incidents in Silang and Bacoor City are the latest in a series of incidents of harassment purportedly by government authorities on their campaigners in different parts of the country.
PROGRESSIVE PARTY-LIST GROUPS IN THE PHILIPPINES FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL IN THE 2022 POLLS
The Makabayan bloc warns that the government’s campaign against dissent won’t stop at members of the progressive coalition. Read.
The arrests also came in the wake of a red-tagging controversy where a local politician supporting Robredo’s rival alleged that her jam-packed campaign rally in the province on March 4 was attended by communist groups.
The statement triggered an uproar. Dozens of red-tagged activists were killed amid the government’s aggressive counterinsurgency campaign.
Anakpawis is a member of the Makabayan group that the military has accused of “advocating violence” in support of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed group New People’s Army, which has waged a protracted war with the Philippine government for over five decades.
Makabayan, which supports Robredo’s presidential bid, rejected the military’s allegations. It said its parliamentary work cannot be considered part of the CPP and NPA’s armed struggle to overthrow the government.
Anakpawis secured seats in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2019 and has pushed for legislation to improve the plight of the urban and rural poor. It is seeking seats in the legislative chamber again in this year’s elections.
Casilao said they sought the help of the Commission on Human Rights in investigating the incidents.
In Bacoor City, residents said the raiding team wore Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) vests. One resident claimed that one member of the raiding team fired his pistol in the air.
In Silang, it was peasant organizer and Anakpawis member Jonathan Mercado who was arrested.
On March 7, farmer and Anakpawis supporter Henry Palaje was reportedly arrested in Guinobatan, Albay. On March 6, another farmer and member of said party-list group was arrested without warrant in Sorsogon City.
On March 5, soldiers of the 5th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army reportedly “harassed” Anakpawis members of Sitio Catigday, Barangay San Francisco, Alicia in Isabela as they were painting a mural in support of the Leni-Kiko team. END
Illustration by Luigi Almuena
February 27
Presidential debates spotlight need for campaign finance reform
by Cherry Salazar
Should candidates return excess campaign funds?
Eight out of 9 candidates present at the CNN Presidential Debates on Sunday, Feb. 27, answered yes when they were asked if excess campaign funds should be returned to donors.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, who did not give a categorical answer, found himself on the defensive. In 2016, he pocketed P40.9 million of unused campaign funds from his unsuccessful bid for the Senate.
But he followed the law and paid taxes.
“Hindi ako nagsauli ng binigay sa aking tulong sa kampanya na sobra, ngunit tinupad ko ang aking tungkulin bilang mamamayan na magbayad ng buwis (I did not return excess campaign donations, but I fulfilled my duty as a citizen to pay my taxes),” Domagoso said during the Feb. 27 debate.
It was the third presidential forum where Domagoso was asked about his leftover funds in 2016. He came prepared with a photocopy of the tax receipt, which he pulled from his pocket when the issue came up.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reported in 2016 that Domagoso had over P50 million unused campaign funds and paid P9.7 million in taxes. (CLICK HERE FOR PCIJ'S MONITORING OF CANDIDATES' CAMPAIGN EXPENSES)
There is no legislation governing what to do with unutilized campaign donations so it is not illegal to keep the money, said lawyer Izah Katrina Reyes of election watchdog group Legal Network For Truthful Elections (Lente).
What is clear, under Revenue Regulation No. 7-2011, is excess campaign funds are subject to income tax and must be included in a candidate’s taxable income. Moreno did exactly this.
In February 2022, the BIR released Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 22-2022, which expands coverage of tax payments to “donations utilized before the campaign period.”
Domagoso “followed the law” but “a higher standard would have been to return the money," policy expert and Ateneo School of Government dean Ronald Mendoza said in a Facebook post.
Still, Mendoza said Moreno's honesty was rare because other politicians also pocket campaign funds yet avoid paying taxes. "He chose to answer honestly and he acknowledged that all politicians can do better by passing a law to clarify this practice. He wins points in my book for telling us the truth."
Moreno called on future legislators to pass a law “so that we can resolve (the issue) properly and fairly.”
Lente has issued several recommendations to improve the country’s campaign finance regulations, including frequent reporting of campaign expenditures and putting a cap on contributions.
The local executive was neither the first nor the only candidate to have had a surplus in his campaign chest. Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo and Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who are both running for president alongside Domagoso, also had leftover funds in 2016.
Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte also had P3.5 million unused funds. END
FEB. 27, 2022
Campaigns show fraught remembrance of EDSA as Marcos' son paves comeback
“Nangabak tayon! (We have a winner),” La Union Rep. Pablo Ortega, an ally of leading presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared before a crowd on Feb. 25.
“Thirty-six nga tawen, agka presidente tayo manen nga aggapu iti Ilocos. Agmamaysa tayo. Ipakita tayo nga aglaylayos iti botos na nangruruna itoy probinsiya tayo nga La Union (After 36 years, we will have another president from Ilocos. Let us unite. Let us show them a flood of votes [for Marcos] first and foremost from La Union,” he continued.
In Iloilo, supporters of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo were defiant. “Hindi pa ito ang huling EDSA. Lalaban para sa mamamayan… (This is not the last EDSA. We will fight for the people… ),” read a placard in the crowd.
“Hindi ‘nyo ba nahahalata? Ang atin pong People's Campaign ay nagiging krusada na,” Robredo told them.
Read the report here.
*Photo from the candidate's Facebook page.
FEB. 26, 2022
Sheila Coronel’s lecture on martial law: ‘A Marcos return is inevitable only if we believe it to be’
“Nangabak tayon! (We have a winner),” La Union Rep. Pablo Ortega, an ally of leading presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared before a crowd on Feb. 25.
“Thirty-six nga tawen, agka presidente tayo manen nga aggapu iti Ilocos. Agmamaysa tayo. Ipakita tayo nga aglaylayos iti botos na nangruruna itoy probinsiya tayo nga La Union (After 36 years, we will have another president from Ilocos. Let us unite. Let us show them a flood of votes [for Marcos] first and foremost from La Union,” he continued.
In Iloilo, supporters of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo were defiant. “Hindi pa ito ang huling EDSA. Lalaban para sa mamamayan… (This is not the last EDSA. We will fight for the people… ),” read a placard in the crowd.
“Hindi ‘nyo ba nahahalata? Ang atin pong People's Campaign ay nagiging krusada na,” Robredo told them.
Read or watch the lecture here.
*Photo from the candidate's Facebook page.
FEB. 23, 2022
Politicians, their spouses, siblings and children pack the party-list race
At least 70 of 177 party-list groups accredited by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the May 2022 elections have nominees who are connected to political clans or incumbent local or national elected officials, research by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) showed.
Among them are a former senator and many district and party-list representatives, governors, vice governors, provincial board members, mayors, vice mayors, and councilors.
Spouses, siblings, and children of politicians are running, too.
Read the report here.
*Photo from the candidate's Facebook page.
FEB. 14, 2022
Marcos pulls away in January poll taken before interview snubs
Former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pulled further away from his rivals in the latest poll conducted by Pulse Asia, but the survey period didn’t capture the full extent of the backlash that the candidate may have suffered following his refusal to participate in at least three high-profile presidential interviews.
In the poll conducted from January 19-24, 60% of the 2,400 respondents said they would vote for Marcos if elections were held during the survey period. His numbers improved 7 percentage points compared with the previous Pulse Asia poll conducted in December 2021.
"Numbers don’t lie, and it is really humbling to know that our message for national unity is resonating among the overwhelming majority of the Filipino people," Marcos spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said in a statement on Sunday, Feb. 13.
But the survey only partly captured the apparent backlash from Marcos’ snub of the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews, which aired on GMA-7 in the early evening of Jan. 22 or toward the end of the survey period. He skipped at least two more interviews since. (READ: MARCOS SNUBS KBP, OTHER PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS TO CONTROL NARRATIVE)
Media groups including the PCIJ have released a statement urging candidates to join debates and forums. There's a concern that “candidates' hesitation to appear before the press while still seeking election indicates the attitude towards the media that they might adopt when already in power,” the statement said.
Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo ranked second in the poll. Her numbers dipped four percentage points from 20% to 16% but it was within the error margin of the survey.
Before she filed her candidacy in October, she recorded single-digit support in all published Pulse Asia surveys and was ranking behind Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso. (DATA: CHECK THE GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF THE LATEST SURVEY HERE)
Pacquiao and Domagoso both recorded 8% support in the January poll, while Senator Panfilo Lacson recorded 4%.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte led the vice-presidential race with 50% support from the respondents. She was followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III who recorded 29% support.
The senatorial race was led by Raffy Tulfo, former Speaker Alan Cayetano, Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero, former Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri. END
FEB. 10, 2022
Comelec division junks Marcos disqualification cases, Akbayan to file appeal
by Elyssa Lopez
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division voted 2-0 to junk three consolidated petitions to disqualify former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. from the 2022 elections.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez announced the decision in a post on Twitter.
The consolidated petitions of Ilagan v. Marcos Jr., Akbayan v. Marcos Jr., and Mangelen v. Marcos Jr. have been dismissed for lack of merit, by the COMELEC's 1st Division.
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) February 10, 2022
Akbayan party-list group, one of the petitioners against Marcos, said it will file an appeal. "We will appeal to the Comelec en banc and pursue this case to the very end," said Akbayan nominee and petitioner Perci Cendaña in a statement.
The party-list group argued that Marcos was perpetually disqualified from public office because of a conviction in the 1990s. Marcos was convicted of tax evasion in 1995 by a Quezon City court. In 1997, the Court of Appeals modified the decision and asked Marcos to pay his deficiency income taxes with interest.
Comelec's First Division is composed of commissioners Aimee Ferolino and Marlon Casquejo. The decision was released a week after the retirement of the division's third member, former Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, who earlier revealed her decision favoring the disqualification cases against Marcos.
Guanzon alleged that Ferolino, the ponente or author of the ruling, was being influenced to delay the decision in order to set aside her vote. Ferolino denied this.
The other petitioners against Marcos are a group of martial law victims led by esteemed writer Bonifacio Ilagan and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Commissioner Abubakar Mangelen.
Ilagan also cited Marcos' tax case but Mangelen cited his alleged failure to to follow party guidelines when he was endorsed by Partido Federal ng Pilipinas in October to be its presidential candidate. Mangelen claimed to be the chairman of the party.
The camp of Marcos' closest rival, Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo, said "the disqualification was never a consideration."
"She always intended to achieve victory in the elections," said Robredo's spokesperson Barry Gutierrez. — WITH ADDITIONAL REPORT FROM CHERRY SALAZAR
FEB. 09, 2022
National candidates kick off campaigns — in photos
Candidates in the May 2022 elections have opened their campaigns on Tuesday, February 8, drawing crowds of mask-wearing supporters amid the coronavirus pandemic. Here are photos from the campaign trail taken by contributing photographers of PCIJ and the candidates' campaign teams. READ OUR REPORT.
CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTOS
*Photos by Kenneth Guda (Domagoso) and Angie de Silva (Lacson). Other photos were contributed (Marcos in a crowd) or courtesy of the candidates' campaign pages.
FEB. 08, 2022
PH media groups urge candidates to participate in debates
On the eve of the official start of the campaign period on February 8, Tuesday, Philippine media groups released a statement urging candidates to participate in forums and debates in order to inform the public about their stands on issues.
The statement led by the Freedom for Media, Freedom For All (FMFA) network, which includes the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, was released following the refusal of leading presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr to join at least three presidential interviews in the past month.
"While FMFA recognizes that candidates have the right to refuse to appear in forums and interviews, such refusal is a disservice to voters who want fuller discussions on how candidates plan to address issues and crises like the pandemic, the West Philippine Sea dispute and the economy," the statement read.
"The coalition is concerned as well that candidates' hesitation to appear before the press while still seeking election indicates the attitude towards the media that they might adopt when already in power," it added.
Read the full statement here.