The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Sunday raised concerns on the alleged overspending of certain presidential candidates on their ad placements particularly those who skirt around provisions in the law in order to maintain the allowed broadcast airtime during the campaign period.

In a media briefing, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the poll body is monitoring candidates' ad placements on TV whether or not they exceeded the allowed 120 minutes of air time for every network, based on the Fair Elections Act.

“There are reports to be submitted by different networks as our way to audit their ads aired on TV... so we can see also the breakdown of the ads. They should follow the law to submit these documents to Comelec,” Larrazabal said.

Based on Comelec Resolution No. 8758 or the “Fair Elections Practices Act in Relation to the May 10,2010 Synchronized National and Local Elections,and Subsequent Elections,” all media entities, whether print or broadcast, are required to submit copies of their political advertising contracts.

They also have to submit certified true copies and certificates of performance covering political advertisements. But according to “Pera at Pulitika,” a group that monitors advertising spending for the May 10 elections, it was only one network (ABC 5) that was able to submit all the three sets of documents.

Larrazabal said he will bring the issue to the Comelec en banc to discussthe penalty for candidates who will violate the Fair Elections Act and the liability of broadcast media outfits for not complying with the requirements.