MANILA, Philippines?Tell that to the Marines.

The campaign election period for national positions officially starts today with a warning from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other watchdog groups that they would not tolerate violations of laws ensuring fair balloting.

The Comelec said it was encouraging citizens to file charges against politicians violating campaign laws or call hotlines 525-9302, 525-9297, 525-9345, 525-9296, 525-9335, 525-9294, 527-5575 and 527-0821.

Those who are charged with an election offense risk imprisonment and being barred from public office.

Unofficially, the campaign started months ago and all indications are so much money has been spent on the exercise.

Still, Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal had this to say in a news briefing: ?The Comelec is bent on ensuring a level playing field for candidates this campaign period. This is why we will be strict in enforcing campaign rules, especially those on posting campaign materials.?

While the campaign period for national posts begins today, those for local contests starts March 26. It will end on May 8?two days before the vote.

Ramon Casiple, a member of the Comelec Advisory Committee, said the Comelec should throw the book at erring candidates from Day 1 to send a strong message that it would not pussyfoot on campaign law, which he said was ?abused too much.?

Campaign spending

Under the Fair Elections Law, candidates for president and vice president are allowed to spend P10 for each voter. If the candidate has a party, the party can contribute another P5.

Candidates for other positions can spend P5 per voter, to which a candidate?s party can add P3 toward his campaign.

They are limited to only 120 minutes of airtime on television and 180 minutes on radio per station for the entire campaign. Those aspiring for local posts are limited to an hour of television airtime and an hour and a half of radio airtime per station.

Candidates are allowed only to post streamers and posters of certain sizes in areas designated by the Comelec.

Posters made of cloth, paper or cardboard should not exceed 2 feet by 3 feet in size. Streamers should not go over the mandated size of 3 feet by 8 feet.

Posting of campaign materials in public places such as streets, bridges, public buildings, trees, electric posts and wires, schools, shrines and main avenues are banned.

Most expensive campaign

Casiple, who is also an official of the Consortium for Electoral Reforms, described the campaign for the 2010 national and presidential elections as the costliest and expensive yet.

He noted that Senators Manny Villar and Manuel ?Mar? Roxas II had been campaigning since 2007.

According to Casiple, Villar is probably spending hundreds of millions of pesos for his television spots, which began airing way before he announced his candidacy for president.

Caravans

The Nacionalista Party (NP) announced that Villar, its presidential standard-bearer, and his running mate, Sen. Loren Legarda, and their senatorial slate would begin their campaign in Biñan and proceed to Calamba in Laguna, the birthplace of national hero Jose Rizal.

?The cradle of heroes is always the best springboard of change,? the NP said.

Sen. Richard Gordon, another presidential aspirant, and his running mate Bayani Fernando will ride on a huge Isuzu prime mover truck designed to look like ?Optimus Prime,? the fictional character in the animated series ?Transformers,? for their campaign launch Tuesday.

Painted blue, red and silver, the truck will ferry Gordon and Fernando from Marikina City to Imus, Cavite, for the formal campaign kick-off program.

Asked why Optimus Prime? Fernando said ?because we are the transformers.?