Atty. Gregorio B. Austral, CPA
A litmus test for our elected public officials
The deadline for filing the Statement of Contribution and Expenditures (SOCE) of all the candidates for the May 9, 2022 elections will be on June 8, 2022..
A candidate’s or a political party’s failure to file the SOCE on time is no longer considered as an election offense pursuant to Sec. 39 of Republic Act No. 7166. Pursuant to Sec. 14 of RA 7166, no person elected to any public office shall enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures herein required. The same prohibition shall apply if the political party which nominated the winning candidate fails to file the statement required herein within the period prescribed by this Act.
Although the non-filing or late filing of the SOCE has been decriminalized, the said omission is considered an administrative offense for which the offenders shall be liable to pay an administrative fine ranging from One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) to Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00), in the discretion of the Commission. For the commission of a second or subsequent offense under this section, the administrative fine shall be from Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) to Sixty thousand pesos (P60,000.00), in the discretion of the Commission. In addition, the offender shall be subject to perpetual disqualification to hold public office. The fine shall be paid within thirty (30) days from receipt of notice of such failure; otherwise, it shall be enforceable by a writ of execution issued by the Commission against the properties of the offender (Sec. 14, RA 7166).
There is another set of regulations on campaign contribution and expenditures which must not be taken for granted by both winning and losing candidates in the recent elections. All candidates, political parties, party-list groups and campaign contributors must register, secure official receipts and pay the corresponding taxes pertaining to donations or campaign contributions and expenses.
While every Filipino who is able and qualified has the right to run for public office, this right however has accompanying duties to render a report on campaign contribution and expenditures and to pay the corresponding taxes. Though this duty may not be as complicated as the theatrical acts the candidates have performed during the campaign period, this is a litmus test of every candidates’ obedience to the rule of law. Every public official whose primary duty is to see to it that laws are faithfully executed must show moral ascendancy to his constituents by following these reasonable regulations.