7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics
7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics
Population: 112.7 million
Head of Government: President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr
Ruling party/coalition: Partido Federal ng Pilipinas
Last election: 2025
Next election: 2028
Number of registered voters: 69.6 million
Annual salary of member of legislature: P3.6 million excluding benefits (US$ 60,000)
Year of study: 2026
Advertisements are the top cost of entering politics. A campaign strategist interviewed for the study estimated that a 30-second TV advert can cost at least P700,000.
A public relations firm typically charges P500-800,000 per month as a retainer fee during the campaign period
The price tag of votes has increased from less than P1,000 to an average of P3-5,000 and even as high as P8-10,000 per person in some areas.
Individuals in online networks are paid between P15-20,000 per month to boost candidates standing online during election periods.
Declared expenditure only covers the official campaign period. The total advertisement expenses by individuals who subsequently became 2025 candidates, across 2024, exceeded P10 billion
In 2020, a total of P2.2 billion was allocated in allowances to senators while members of the House of Representatives claimed P7.9 billion.
In 2024, 67 construction company owners who were also members of the House of Representatives had been investigated for potential violation of anti-graft laws; whilst 8 out of 10 district representatives are from political families.
Population: 112.7 million
Head of Government: President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr
Ruling party/coalition: Partido Federal ng Pilipinas
Last election: 2025
Next election: 2028
Number of registered voters: 69.6 million
Annual salary of member of legislature: P3.6 million excluding benefits (US$ 60,000)
Year of study: 2026
Key Findings
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Context
- In 2025, the Philippines embarked on its mid-term elections under the Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. administration. More than 68.7 million voters registered, and nearly 82% turned out to vote for nationally elected senators, district representatives, provincial governors, city and municipal mayors, and local councilors.
- However, electoral politics in the country remains clientelist and dynastic, with political parties weak and policy-oriented debates not decisive. This situation leaves little room for those without significant political and financial capital, especially women and the youth, to participate.
- In seeking elective office, politicians incur a wide range of costs. In the Philippines, the bulk of these costs are spent before the official campaign period, as designated by law. These can be considered the unofficial costs of seeking political office, whilst permitted expenses – those spent within the campaign period - can be more broadly considered as the official cost.
Expenditure dynamics
- Advertisements are the top cost of entering politics. Expenditure covers advertisements released not only on traditional media – TV, radio and billboards - but also on social media - Facebook, YouTube, and, more recently, TikTok.
- Surveys and adverts are very costly in the Philippines but provide an edge for many politicians. Political and economic elites and taipans/businessmen, contribute to the election kitty of their candidates, most preferably the likely winners, as indicated by surveys that are both privately commissioned and publicly undertaken.
- Establishing and sustaining a good image and compelling message also takes a lion's share of the expenses made by individuals running for elective posts in the Philippines.
- Vote buying is deeply entrenched in the Philippine political and electoral culture. Vote buying comes in two waves—the first as an introductory offer (‘pakimkim’) and the second, and the last, as pre-election day thanksgiving (‘pasasalamat’). Although the practice is “masalimuot” (complex and messy), but it remains a critical part of electoral success.
- Officially reported figures for campaign expenditure are well below what most respondents estimate the real cost of entering politics to be.
Finding funds
- Finances come from legislator’s budgets, pork barrel allocation, congressional insertions and amendment, and financial transfers to indigents.
- The politics of pork barrel is “a particular type of constituency service through which a legislator's geographic constituency benefits from the distribution of public works projects”. However, the discretion provided to legislators in allocating such funds, enables corrupt activities to take place.
- Many of these potential sources of funds available to those holding political office, gives incumbent politicians an undue advantage when they run for re-election
Drivers of high costs
- Most representatives belong to families with big business interests or are business owners themselves. Given the resources as their disposal, candidates from well-entrenched political dynasties generally have higher chances of victory as opponents, unless they come from another dynastic family, rarely have the resources to compete.
- The multi-party system that was created by the 1987 Constitution has generated candidate-centric parties prone to ‘turncoatism’ that lack serious platforms. A consequence of this is that elections are highly unpredictable, personality-oriented, and generally devoid of substantive policy discourse.
- The lack of strict campaign finance enforcement, the weak human and budgetary resource capacity of COMELEC, vote buying, electoral fraud and outdated electoral rules that are already inconsistent with social and online media campaigns and international standards inhibits its effectiveness.
- Another important consideration to the cost of elections is the conduct of synchronous national and local elections. While the logic for synchronous election is to cut on cost for election administration, the cost implication for candidates and political parties at the national level is profound.
Impacts on women and youth
- Wealthy and pedigreed women dominate electoral politics whilst non-dynastic women are overlooked for political office and when they do run, their chances of success are low.
- Only 17 out of 318, or 5.4%, percent of House of Representative members are aged 25-30. Fifteen of those 17 come from political dynasties and who can utilise the resources available from these networks as a result.
Recommendations
- A complete overhaul of the Omnibus Election Code is needed. Electoral rules must be definitive and coherent to ensure better enforcement, particularly on the nebulous concept of ‘campaign’ period.
- The regulation of political dynasties is imperative to prevent their undue influence and advantage in electoral politics. This can take many forms: regulating the number of family members who can run in one electoral cycle, regulating succession, or preventing them from running based on the degree of consanguinity.
- Political parties, social movements, and civil society groups must be trained on developing gender-responsive and youth-oriented programmes to encourage and prepare young women, men, and non-binary individuals entering politics at all levels.
- An enhanced civic education campaign targeting the practice of vote buying should be a priority. Alongside this, training for political parties, campaign managers and practitioners on people-centred scientific campaigning that utilises data and social media analytics and can shift the focus away from short-term monetary incentives to more policy-driven development discussions.
- Financial transfers and assistance to low-income groups, including infrastructure projects, must be based on science and evidence-based targeting, and aligned with the goals of the Philippine Development Plan, and sectoral and local development plans. ils.
