Taxpayers should fund elections, says Angara

Senator Edgardo Angara. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines–Taxpayers should fund the country’s political parties instead of rich campaign donors so that politicians would not be beholden to vested interest groups, a senator said Saturday.

Senator Edgardo Angara again called on his colleagues to pass his version of the House bill seeking to strengthen the political party system, saying that its provision on a multimillion-peso state subsidy for national political parties would make elections fairer and more equitable.

Angara’s Senate Bill No. 3214 proposes, among other things, the creation of a P350-million state subsidy fund which accredited national political parties could use for their poll campaigns and other operations like civic education, research and policy development, recruitment and training for members.

“On one hand, the fund can be used to professionalize and enhance the operations of political parties. On the other, it empowers them to truly represent the interests of their constituents rather than remain beholden to private contributors,” Angara said in a statement.

“The underlying principle there is that a country’s politics can be developed and made more equitable if the state supports political organizations with their campaigns and finances,” he said.

Angara said that by providing funds to political parties as a neutral third party, “the state provides baseline support to political parties and eases their need to turn to moneyed personalities for funding.

Both the House and Senate versions of the political party reform bill also penalize political turncoats or those who defect from one political party to another by banning them from running in the next election.

The House of Representatives has passed its version of the bill on third and final reading. The Senate version, on the other hand, has been the subject of a committee report sponsored in the plenary by Angara in August.

Senate Bill No. 3214 is authored by Angara and Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Franklin Drilon and Jinggoy Estrada.

Angara, who prides himself on being the longest-serving senator in the post-Edsa years, said government funding for political parties were common features in many countries with mature democracies like Canada, Germany, Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“In 2008, the United States government allotted $16.3 million for its political parties, while the United Kingdom grants £2 million annually,” Angara said.

Under the Senate version, the subsidy will be shared proportionately among accredited national parties based on three broad criteria:  Political representation, organizational strength and mobilization capability, and performance and track record of the party.