3 presidential and 2 VP bets failed to submit SOCE on time —Comelec list

Three presidential candidates and two vice presidential bets have failed to submit their respective Statements of Contribution and Expenditures (SOCEs) on time, the list provided by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed.

At the end of the SOCE filing period on June 8, the Comelec said only President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and defeated presidential candidates Panfilo Lacson, Jose Montemayor Jr., Leni Robredo, Manny Pacquiao, Isko Moreno Domagoso, and Leody de Guzman have declared their campaign expenditures and contributions.

Corina Joyce Castillo Felix, who filed her certificate of candidacy in October but was not included in the final list of Comelec's presidential candidates, also filed her SOCE before the Comelec.

Among the 10 official presidential bets for the 2022 national and local elections, Norberto Gonzales, Faisal Mangondato, and Ernie Abella failed to submit their SOCEs within the 30-day period as provided by law.

Of the nine vice presidential bets in Eleksyon 2022, only Rizalito David and Manny Lopez failed to declare their campaign expenses and contributions on time.

For the senatorial candidates, only 47 out of 64 official candidates have submitted their SOCEs on time, according to the summary of SOCE filers provided by the Comelec Campaign Finance Office (CFO).

All the 12 winning senators—Robin Padilla, Loren Legarda, Raffy Tulfo, Sherwin Gatchalian, Francis Escudero, Mark Villar, Alan Peter Cayetano, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Risa Hontiveros, and Jinggoy Estrada—have submitted their documents on time.

Meanwhile, 149 out of 178 party-list groups have filed their respective SOCEs and 30 political groups have submitted their documents on time.

In a statement, Comelec Education and Information Division Director James Jimenez said winning candidates are given a grace period of six months from their proclamation to file their SOCE.

"Until such time that they have complied, they are barred from assuming office. If their political party likewise fails to comply, the same prohibition applies," he added.

The Comelec also reminded that candidates who fail to file their SOCEs will be held administratively liable and they will also be asked to pay fines. This rule will be applicable to the winning and losing candidates who miss the deadline.

"In case of a second or subsequent failure to submit SOCE, a higher fine will be imposed to the candidate or the party, as well as perpetual disqualification to hold public office," Jimenez said.

Under the law, candidates for president and vice president are allowed to spend up to P10 per voter.

Meanwhile, other candidates can only spend up a maximum of P3 per voter, but if they are running as an independent they are allowed to spend P5 per voter.

Political parties and party-list groups are also allowed to spend up to P5 per voter.

With 65,831,806 registered local voters and 1,697,202 overseas voters in the 2022 polls, the Comelec said national candidates can only spend up to P675,290,080; P197,495,418 for other candidates with political parties or 74,320,316 for independent candidates as well as political parties and party-list groups. — BM/AOL, GMA News