ELECTION LAWS ARE PRETTY CLEAR.
Certain sectors are prohibited from making election campaign contributions because of the possibility of conflict of interest. These include entities that have pending government contracts, or need special permits, franchises, or licenses from government agenices. For example, mining firms, public utilities, and broadcast companies are prohibited from making campaign donations because they secure special licenses from the government.
But in the recent May 2013 elections, a careful study of the list of major campaign contributors shows a proliferation of personalities with links to these same sectors that are barred from donating.
In the first of a three-part series on how donors, candidates, and political parties poke holes (or poke fun) at the country’s election laws, the PCIJ looks at how these regulated and restricted sectors have intruded into the wild woolly world of Philippine elections through the power of their purses.
While these sectors are prohibited from making campaign donations, the owners or officers of these companies have found a loophole in the law that apparently still enables them to wield their monetary clout in the political world.
Read part 1 of the story below:
Part 1: Top execs of barred firms funded Senate bets, parties