785 face perpetual disqualification
A total of 785 candidates who ran in previous elections are now at risk of being disqualified perpetually from holding public office.
This developed after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) discovered that the said candidates failed to file before the poll body the required Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs) in the last three elections.
Section 14 of the Republic Act 7166 provides that “every candidate and treasurer of the political party shall, within thirty (30) days after the day of the election, file in duplicate with the offices of the Commission the full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election. No person elected to any public offices shall enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures herein required. The same prohibition shall apply if the political party which nominated the winning candidate fails to file the statement required herein within the period prescribed by this Act.”
“Except candidates for elective barangay office, failure to file the statements or reports in connection with electoral contributions and expenditures are required herein shall constitute an administrative offense for which the offenders shall be liable to pay an administrative fine ranging from One thousand pesos (R1,000.00) to Thirty thousand pesos (R30,000.00), the discretion of the Commission.
194 from ARMM The fine shall be paid within thirty (30) days from receipt of notice of such failure; otherwise, it shall be enforceable by a writ of execution issued by
in the Commission against the properties of the offender.”
The election provision states that those who failed to file their SOCEs for a second or subsequent offense shall be subject to perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
Out of the 785 candidates who failed to file their SOCEs by the Comelec’s Campaign Finance Office (CFO), 194 is from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Other regions with a high number of non-SOCE filers are Calabarzon with 88; Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) , 70; Northern Mindanao, 67; Central Luzon, 60; Socsargen, 59; National Capital Region (NCR) , 54, Cagayan Valley, 30; Central Visayas, 25; Ilocos Region and Mimaropa with 23 each; Eastern Visayas, 21; Davao Region, 18; Zamboanga Peninsula, 16; Bicol Region and Western Visayas with 15 each; and Caraga, 7.
Disqualified In an interview, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said cases against the 785 candidates are now set to be filed before the commission.
“These are still up for filing of petitions for perpetual disqualification before the Office of the Secretary of the Commission (ComSec),” he said.
Administrative fines shall also be slapped against the erring candidates.
Based on Comelec Resolution No. 9991, those who failed to file their SOCE’s for a second time will have to pay an amount between R20,000 to R60,000 depending on the position they ran for.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista warned that the erring candidates who filed their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for the May 2016 polls may be disqualified for repeatedly failing to file their SOCEs unless there is an order from the court. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)