DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The use of scratch cards as a form of raising campaign funds for the Duterte-Cayetano team has been put on hold due to legal requirements for donors, media bureau head Peter Laviña said on Thursday, February 11.
On his Facebook post, Laviña said scratch cards are legal as these "do not fall under prohibited forms of fund-raising".
Duterte's campaign manager, Leoncio Evasco Jr, told Rappler they decided to stop the production of the cards "in the meantime" after learning about the many regulations required by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
"According to our lawyers in consultation with the Comelec, the scratch cards are legal, but it would be impossible for us to use it due to the reportorial requirements where donors must each execute and sign a notarized Report of Contribution... (which) must be filed 30 days after the election either by the donor or the candidate or political party," Laviña said.
"For giving P25 you need to go to a lawyer and have him/her notarize a form stating your contribution," he added.
Lavina expressed disgust over such rules as there are just meant for very few big donors and does not consider mass donations like piso-piso or the scratch cards.
Laviña said the Comelec rules are "truly unfortunate because trapos (traditional politicians) can freely receive illicit funds from drug lords while legitimate donations from Maria and Pedro (common Filipinos) have to go through the rigors of a bureaucratic maze."
Not junked
Daisy Encabo, part of Duterte's campaign team in charge of the cards, emphasized that though production has been stopped temporarily, the project has not yet been junked completely. (READ more from Sun.Star Davao)
"We need to adjust but not stop. Currently, we are meeting to find creative ways [of] how to go about [the] compliance matter," she told Rappler Friday, February 12.
Laviña said that the supposedly stifling rules should give voters another reason to really push for Duterte’s candidacy.
Evasco told Sun.Star Davao on Wednesday that soon after the scratch cards were launched, they decided to call off distribution, pending legal opinion from their lawyers.
Evasco said that they sent the legal panel to study whether it or not the cards go against any provisions of the amended Omnibus Election Code.
The cards are the size of a regular cellular phone load card and come in denominations of P25, P50, P500, P100, P100,000, and P500,000.
The back of the card contains a PIN number, visible when the cover is scratched, much like a cellcard. To register the contribution you text: DDS PIN Surname First Name Address and send to 0932-292-2022 (Sun), 0975-7812520 (Globe) or 0928-375-9129 (Smart).
The funds supposedly collected from these scratch cards will be remitted to the campaign finance headquarters. Through the SMS, a database of supporters is also generated. The data base will show the name, address, and phone number of the donor.
Section 97 of the Omnibus Election Code says prohibited forms of fund-raising are: holding of dances, lotteries, cockfights, games, boxing bouts, bingo, beauty contests, entertainment, or cinematographic, theatrical or other performances.
Based on Sections 68, 97, 262, and 264 of the OEC, violation of Section 97 is an election offense punishable by 1 to 6 years of imprisonment, disqualification to hold public office and the exercise of the right of suffrage. Candidates involved can be disqualified from running in the elections.
Election contributions from the following are also prohibited (OEC Sections 81, 95, 96): Public or private financial institutions, but loans in the ordinary course of business are allowed; Individuals or corporations operating a public utility or in possession of or exploiting any natural resources of the nation; Individuals or corporations who hold contracts or sub-contracts to supply the government with goods or services or to perform construction or other works; Individuals or corporations who have been granted franchises, or similar privileges or concessions by the government; Individuals or corporations who, within one year prior to the date of the election, have been granted loans in excess of P100,000 by the government; Educational institutions which have received grants of public funds amounting to no less than P100,000; Officials or employees in the Civil Service, or members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and Foreigners and foreign corporations. – Rappler.com