Newsbreak Chats: Should Philippine elections be this expensive?

Bookmark this page to watch and join the discussion live on Thursday, April 11, at 4:30 pm! 

MANILA, Philippines – Campaign finances have long been a controversial issue during the election period. 

Republic Act 7166, the country’s campaign finance law, is ideally there to put limits on campaign spending to at least level the playing field among candidates.

It was passed in 1991 and has remained unchanged since then – including the maximum amount of money candidates spend. Spending caps are still based on standards more than 25 years ago. 

On Tuesday, April 9, the team sits down with election lawyer and Rappler columnist Emil Marañon III for a special edition of Newsbreak Chats to discuss the issues surrounding the Philippines’ campaign finance law. (READ: [OPINION] Is it time to amend the Philippines’ campaign finance law?)

In his piece, Marañon argued that the “unrealistic expense cap forces many candidates to lie, hide, or under-declare expenses and contributions” and that violators are rarely punished. 

Join the discussion on Thursday, April 11, at 4:30 pm! – Rappler.com

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