Election bets with wrong info in SOCEs may face criminal raps – Garcia

MANILA, Philippines — An election candidate who declared wrong information in the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) may be deemed to have committed an election offense and could be penalized, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Erwin Garcia.

In an interview with reporters on Thursday, Garcia reminded candidates that they must thoroughly review their SOCEs with their lawyers and accountants, especially if prohibited contributions have been made.  “It’s the same with the election offense of 1-6 years of imprisonment. And if there’s false information, that’s perjury. And at the same time, it can be classified as falsification of a public document,” Garcia enumerated when asked what charges a candidate who declared a false SOCE may face.

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Garcia stressed the Section 98 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) states that “[n]o person shall make any contribution in any name except his own,” and that no candidate or a treasurer of a political party can “receive a contribution or enter a record the same in any name other than of the person by whom it was actually made.”

He also pointed out the Section 99 of OEC where every individual giving contributions to a candidate or treasurer of a political party must file a report before the Comelec, stating the amount of contribution made, the name of the receiving candidate or agent of the political party, and the date of the contribution.

But does the Comelec have the authority to remove an elected candidate from their position once proven that they made false declarations in their SOCEs? Garcia said the poll body can only file criminal cases against the candidate.

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“At this point where they have taken an oath and assumed office, the office where they belong will be responsible for removing them from their position,” he explained.

He added that the Comelec does not have a mandate to initiate a petition in removing a politician from their office.

The Comelec is now investigating SOCEs of all candidates to check if they made correct declarations. The poll body is reviewing ways on how it can request the statements of assets, liabilities and network of elected officials to countercheck these documents with the SOCEs. /apl