All bark, no bite

Look what happens when you gain notoriety for making empty threats. The Commission on Elections has been reminding candidates in last year’s midterm elections to file their statements of campaign contributions and expenditures. With compliance slow, the Comelec extended its deadline and gave candidates until June 30 to file the SOCE.

With many candidates still unable or unwilling to comply, the Comelec is now warning that those who failed to meet the deadline and did not submit their SOCE in the past two consecutive elections would be disqualified from running in 2016. The Comelec is finalizing guidelines for a “strike two” policy, which will mean automatic rejection of the certificate of candidacy of anyone who either did not file the SOCE or whose statement is found to be inaccurate.

The Comelec has a Campaign Finance Unit that is now verifying the SOCEs of thousands of candidates. Violators can face administrative sanctions including fines ranging from P10,000 to P60,000. Perhaps the Comelec should also revise the penalties. Those amounts are a pittance for the typical politician who runs for a local government position or a seat in Congress.

The seeds of corruption are often planted during election campaigns. Cleaning up campaign finance is an indispensable element in any serious effort to stamp out corruption. Lawmakers have consistently resisted proposals to bring transparency to campaign finance and draw up laws that can be effectively enforced to regulate election contributions and spending. If Congress refuses to move, it’s up to the Comelec to do the job.

This can start with the ongoing effort to compel candidates to file accurate statements of contributions and expenditures. It’s time for the Comelec to show that it isn’t all bark, no bite.