Campaign expenses discourage bets in Iloilo

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — There are fewer candidates for the barangay (village) elections in this city, which might be due to too much politics and high campaign expenses.

The number of candidates in Iloilo City’s 180 villages reached 3,934, 353 for barangay captain and 3,581 for a seat in the seven-member barangay council.

This is lower than the more than 5,400 candidates in the 2010 elections, according to Jonathan Sayno, election assistant of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Iloilo City.

There are 180 positions for barangay captain and 1,260 positions for barangay council member.

Irene Ong, outgoing barangay captain of President Roxas in Iloilo City, said many who wanted to run in the elections were discouraged by “too much politicking.”

Ong, former president of the city’s Association of Barangay Captains, said barangay elections, especially in heavily populated ones, involved the interference of politicians who provide support, especially funding, to their favored candidates.

“For large barangays, it is quite expensive to be a candidate, especially for barangay captain,” she said.

Barangay elections, while supposedly nonpartisan, are generally believed to be dominated also by city or municipal politicians who rely on barangay captains to ensure their political base for municipal or city elections.

Ong said politicians also exerted their influence by convincing the prospective opponents of their favored candidates not to run in the elections.

In Eastern Visayas, more than 64,600 candidates (7,942 for barangay captain and 56,685 for barangay council member) are running for 4,390 positions for barangay captain and 30,730 post for barangay council member.

There are 3,170 candidates for barangay captain and 22,121 candidates for barangay council member in Leyte; 1,667 running for barangay captain and 12,415 for barangay council member in Samar; 1,125 for barangay captain and 7,784 for barangay council member in Eastern Samar; 862 for barangay captain and 6,060 for barangay council member in Northern Samar; 882 for barangay captain and 6,472 for barangay council member in Southern Leyte, and 236 for baranggay captain and 1,833 for barangay council member in Biliran.

In Eastern Visayas and Iloilo City, police have increased security measures related to the elections, including the monitoring of the election watch list.

The barangay elections are expected to be more intense compared to local and national elections because the campaigning is more personal and involves opposing families and clans.

The Comelec, together with the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army, has instituted several measures to ensure that the conduct of the barangay polls in the region will be peaceful and orderly.

Among these are the establishments of permanent and mobile checkpoints, and the imposition of the gun ban policy.