Team DailyPedia
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) en banc ruled in favor of the Liberal Party’s request to extend the deadline for filing of Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) on June 16, 2016 (Thursday). The ruling extends the initial “non-extendable” June 8 deadline to the end of the month, June 30.
The deadline for the filing of SOCE is a requirement which applies to both newly elected politicians and those who lost in the last (May 2016) national elections. The COMELEC has been very adamant about the deadline, in which they have repeatedly stated that the failure to file the SOCE on time will face administrative charges and other sanctions; including but not limited to perpetual disqualification from public office.
With a 4-3 voting, COMELEC en banc granted the request of the Liberal Party to extend the filing of SOCE to June 30. COMELEC commissioners Arthur Lim, Al Parreño, Sheriff Abas, and Rowena Guanzon were the four who favored the extension; while Chairman Andres Bautista, Campaign Finance Office head commissioner Christian Robert Lim, and Commissioner Luie Guia voted against it.
In a press statement, COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez elaborated and conveyed the ruling of the en banc favoring the extension of the SOCE filing.
“The law never intended for the results to be so absurd. You have to understand it will have a big impact if the deadline is not extended,” Jimenez emphasized.
Jimenez noted that while Chairman Bautista voted against the extension, “he thinks that late filers should be allowed with corresponding penalties.”
“The Comelec had to think – how many will not be able to assume office simply because they were not able to file their SOCEs. The problem here is you will defeat essentially the voices of the voters who voted for these people. That is what we wanted to avoid,” Jimenez explained.
There are about 15 senatorial candidates (including Franklin Drilon, Raffy Alunan, Mark Lapid, Dante Liban, Sergio Osmeña III, and Jovito Palparan), 40 governors, 115 congressmen, and one presidential candidate—LP presidential bet Manuel Roxas II—who failed to file their SOCE on time. COMELEC commissioner Guanzon said they took into consideration several issues.
“How the law should be interpreted, what are the consequences of strict or liberal interpretation and what was the intent of the Comelec when it issued the resolution.” Guanzon said.
“I think we had to weigh on the issue of consequence of a strict interpretation, what will happen to the status of all these elected officials whose parties did not file. We’re not just talking about LP,” she added.
There have been various negative reactions towards this COMELEC ruling from various involved parties and ordinary citizens. The head of the Commission on Elections Campaign Finance Office Commissioner Christian Robert Lim has announced that he is filing an “irrevocable” resignation in protest of the COMELEC ruling of his fellow commissioners.
“Kasi ngayon parang wala nang rules so ano pang gagawin ko diyan [in COMELEC]? (Because now it seems like there are no rules, so what else will I do there [in COMELEC]?)” Lim answered when asked why he is resigning from his post.“Iyong views ko is inconsistent now with the views of the en banc so now bakit pa ako mag-head [ng CFO]? (My views are inconsistent now with the views of the [COMELEC] en banc so now, why would I lead [the CFO]?)” he added.
“Comelec may have not noticed, but they just killed the very rule they have raised. And by frequently bending their own rules, they have shown their true colors. They have made their own rules irrelevant, and what they did to accommodate Roxas and LP was completely out of step,”
UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan said.
“By extending the deadline, reversing their own rules, and even going against what is clearly stipulated in the law, it obviously seems that the commissioners think that their powers are unlimited.” Ilagan added.
“Now, who is going to believe in the deadline that the Comelec will set in the next elections? Nobody. They will just think that they can just ask for an extension,” the Philippine News Agency quoted the former COMELEC chair.“They will simply use the reasoning that the Comelec granted the request of the LP in 2016. Why not us?” PNA quoted Brillantes.
“In their decision now, they did not impose any penalties to late filers. It’s like they are forgiving the late filers altogether,” Brillantes justified.
