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MANILA, Philippines – Six winners in last month’s senatorial elections failed to meet the deadline for submitting their Statements of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday, May 13.
The Comelec set 5 pm, Thursday, as the deadline for submitting the SOCE. Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes Jr, however, said the poll body will be open until 8 pm for submissions due to bad weather.
The Comelec will decide whether to fine those who failed to submit by 5 pm.
Commissioner Christian Lim, who leads the monitoring of campaign finance, has said that those who fail to submit their SOCE can’t assume office.
The winners who failed to meet the Comelec’s deadline on Thursday were:
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Loren Legarda
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Alan Peter Cayetano
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Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero
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Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara
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Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito
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Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II
Only 21 out of 33 senatorial candidates, or 63.6% of the total, submitted their SOCEs on time. The following met the Comelec’s deadline on the following dates:
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Christian Señeres – June 11
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Ramon Montaño – June 11
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Paolo Benigno Aquino IV – June 11
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Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay – June 12
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Ramon Magsaysay Jr – June 12
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Mary Grace Poe – June 12
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Juan Ponce Enrile Jr – June 12
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Samson Alcantara – June 13
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John Carlos delos Reyes – June 13
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Baldomero Falcone – June 13
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Richard Gordon – June 13
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Edward Hagedorn – June 13
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Jamby Madrigal – June 13
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Cynthia Villar – June 13
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Greco Belgica – June 13
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Margarita Cojuangco – June 13
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Aquilino Pimentel III – June 13
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Ernesto Maceda – June 13
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Antonio Trillanes IV – June 13
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Maria Milagros Magsaysay – June 13
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Ricardo Penson – June 13
The Comelec said among political parties, 6 met the deadline. They are:
- United Nationalist Alliance
- Nacionalista Party
- Lakas-CMD
- PDP-Laban
- Social Justice Society
- Liberal Party
The Comelec has disclosed an initial list of SOCE submissions, and is expected to publicize the final list soon.
The SOCE is meant to disclose how much contributions a candidate got, and how much he or she spent, and if the amounts comply with campaign spending cap prescribed in the election law, which election players say is outdated.
Republic Act 7166, or the Synchronized National and Local Elections Law, allows presidential and vice presidential candidates to spend up to P10 per voter. It allows their political parties to spend P5 per voter.
The law allows other candidates to spend P3 per voter. In addition to this, the political party in the candidate’s constituency may spend up to P5 per voter. Independent bets may spend P5 per voter.
The SOCE also shows who contributed to a candidate’s campaign, which the Bureau of Internal Revenue initially planned to use as guide on which contributors should be checked for inconsistencies in tax declarations. – Rappler.com
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