Comelec orders survey firms to name subscribers

Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) ordered survey firms Tuesday to name their subscribers in order to find out their source of income.

“We’re directing them to divulge the names of their subscribers … because the subscriber pays for or at least pay part of the survey,” Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. told reporters.

Previously, Navotas Representative and United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) spokesman Tobias Tiangco had asked the Comelec to conduct an investigation to find out who is paying for the conduct of election surveys because it was not covered under the current campaign rules.

During a hearing held by the Comelec en banc, survey firms Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia declined to disclose who commissions or pays for the election surveys.

The survey firms however admitted that they have subscribers who pay in order to obtain unpublished research data.

Comelec Resolution 9674, section 5.2 states that “during the election period, any person … candidate or organization who publishes a survey result must likewise publish … the name of the person, candidate, party or organization who commissioned or paid for the survey.”

Section 5.3 also states, “The survey, together with raw data gathered to support its conclusions, shall be available for inspection, copying and verification by the Comelec.”

Brillantes said that the survey firms will be required to divulge to Comelec who their subscribers are within three days of promulgation of their resolution.

“The resolution will provide that under Republic Act 9006, they are required to disclose … if they don’t divulge we can apply the provisions of 9006 which says there is a violation [or an] election offense,” Brillantes said.

“What is given to us will be kept in confidence, it will not be published,” he said.

Candidates who are subscribers of the survey firms will have to make such a disclosure in their election expenses statement, the resolution stated.

“The amount spent by candidates and political parties for surveys, including subscriptions, forms part of their campaign expenditure which must be disclosed by the candidates and reported by the survey firms to Comelec,” it said.

When asked whether the resolution can be questioned before the Supreme Court by the survey firms, Brillantes said: “They can always go up to anywhere they like, it’s OK with us.”