Various businesses in Pangasinan have recorded higher income during the campaign period for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). Eugene Caranto, a campaign jingle-maker, said the campaign period gave him additional income. 'Seasonal naman ito at 'di naman kami nagma-market, kung sino lang tatawag (This is a seasonal business and we don't really market, it depends on who would contact me),' he told the Philippine News Agency Monday. Caranto said he earned around PHP1,500 to PHP8,000 per client, noting that he has more clients in this year's BSKE compared in the past. Fidel de Guzman, a grilled fish vendor in the town, said their sales doubled during the campaign period. He also cited the long weekend due to the elections as a factor to this, as more residents returned here to vote. Michelle Montemayor, assistant manager of a printing service, said they printed an average of 500 election tarpaulins and cards daily two weeks before the 10-day campaign period, which started last October 19. 'Kadalasan tarpaulin at tarheta. Kung meron mang T-shirts para lang sa mga kandidato (Most of it were tarpaulins and cards. If there were orders for T-shirt printing, those were only for the candidates),' she said in an interview. Unlike in the 2022 national elections wherein there are orders for souvenirs like foldable fans or stickers with the name of the candidates, Montemayor said they did not receive similar orders for the BSKE. This, after the Commission on Elections prohibited the distribution of any goods or things that have value since this is considered as vote buying. Despite the prohibition, Montemayor said their production remained robust, which required them to hire two temporary employees. She said sales still increased by around 50 to 70 percent. Sheryl Morales, owner of a printing service in Dagupan City, said aside from their direct contacts, they also accepted sub-contracts from small printing shops that cannot handle the bulk of orders. 'Madami kasi kandidato ngayon. Napansin namin sa listahan ng mga line-up nila (There are a lot of candidates this election. We saw this based on their line-up),' she said. She said they printed around 10,000 tarpaulins and around 20,000 cards daily ahead of the campaign period, which boosted their income by around 150 percent compared to their normal operations. There are over 57,000 candidates for BSKE in Pangasinan vying for just over 10,000 village posts.
Souce: Philippines News Agency
