Ban on ‘ayuda’ distribution 10 days before polls eyed

MANILA, Philippines — A Commission on Elections committee is proposing a ban on all kinds of aid or ayuda 10 days before elections, Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Monday.

Garcia said this proposal by the Kontra Bigay committee headed by Commissiomer Ernesto Maceda Jr. will be tackled before the Comelec en banc on its regular Wednesday session.

“The committee is proposing on the Commission en banc that all kinds of ayuda will be prohibited ten days before the election,” Garcia said in an ambush interview at Palacio del Gobernador.

“We are studying that because it has implications to our countrymen who are relying on those ayuda,” he added.

Garcia pointed out that, to date, the Comelec only prohibits the distribution of Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation or Aics ten days before elections.