President Rodrigo Duterte's assurance to????is partymates in Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan he would bring "sacks of money" when they campaign for next year's elections should be taken as a promise that he would physically campaign and raise funds for them from the private sector, Malacanang said on Monday.

This was after Duterte, in a meeting with the PDP-Laban members last Saturday, said he would go to every place in the country and bring sacks of cash when he campaigns for the party's candidates.

"Of course, he (Duterte) knows that it's illegal to use public funds for partisan purposes," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.

But he said there is no prohibition from the Omnibus Election Code to raise funds from private individuals for the candidacies of certain individuals.

"So, that is what the President meant. It’s an assurance to his party mates that not only will he physically campaign for them, he will also raise funds for them; and that’s not prohibited by the Constitution or the Omnibus Election Code. Unfortunately, democracy can be very expensive," he explained.

Roque said without fund raising, no candidate could run, except for those very rich.

"Only the very rich can run if soliciting funds for election purposes will be declared illegal. So on the contrary, that’s legal. What is prohibited is the spending of public funds," he added. Celerina Monte/DMS