LENTE: 28% of community leaders reported abuse of gov’t resources during election campaign

Poll watchdog LENTE on Tuesday said that around 28% of community leaders have observed abuse of government resources during the election campaign.

At a press conference, LENTE presented the initial results of its monitoring study on the misuse of government resources during the campaign period.

“Initial results from the monitoring show that only 21.5% or 28 out of the 130 voter respondents and 28% or 45 out of the 161 community leader respondents said that they have observed candidates using state vehicles or state resources during their campaign,” LENTE said.

Also, the results showed 93% or 66 out of the 71 civil servants interviewed claimed that they are aware of the legal restrictions imposed on government workers for the conduct of campaign activities.

For candidates and their campaign staff, only 17.3% or four out of 23 respondents claimed that they have equal access to institutional and financial resources.

The abuse of state resources (ASR) is a specific form of political corruption when incumbent political parties and candidates manipulate or misuse government resources for electoral advantage, the group said.

According to LENTE, there are four kinds of abuse of state resources:  financial,  institutional, regulatory, and coercive resources.

Most of the reported abuses were institutional which involve government vehicles, infrastracture, and workers, LENTE said.

The study employed 40 long-term observers in 17 identified vote-rich and income-generating areas nationwide.

These observers conducted interviews with six election stakeholders: voters, permanent local government employees, candidates or their campaign staff, community leaders, vulnerable sectors, and other non-partisan stakeholders.

“While there are laws prohibiting the use of state resources such as vehicles, buildings, civil servants, and other state resources during elections, much effort is left to be done in terms of law enforcement which presently leave the electoral system vulnerable to manipulation and misuse of state resources by incumbent officials,” LENTE said.

“We also call on the general public to be more cooperative and vigilant and report instances of abuse of state resources to oversight bodies and to LENTE,” it added.

Volunteers

Meanwhile, LENTE said it will mobilize 4,000 volunteers from its 40 law school chapters nationwide on Election Day.

These volunteers will work on public education activities, local debates/interviews/forums, and legal services to the public.

LENTE is also seeking the approval of the Commission on Elections for its Pilot Voters’ Transportation project that will provide transportation to voters in vulnerable groups from their residence to voting centers. — RSJ, GMA News