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Winning
candidates defy law
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from
NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.16
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The Philippine Center for Investigative
Journalism (PCIJ) came out this week with an in-depth report on the nonsubmission to the Comelec by candidates in the May 2010 elections
of Statements of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SECEs), as
required by law. "If laws on campaign finance were enforced to the
letter, (many winning candidates) should not be occupying their
seats right now," says PCIJ. |
According to Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7166 (An Act
Providing for Synchronized National and Local Elections and
for Electoral Reforms):
"Statement of
Contributions and Expenditures: Effect of Failure to
File Statement. - Every candidate and treasurer of
the political party shall, within thirty (30) days
after the day of the election, file in duplicate
with the offices of the Commission the full, true
and itemized statement of all contributions and
expenditures in connection with the election.
No person elected to any public offices 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." |
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According to the report, the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) has identified one presidential candidate and
one vicepresidential
candidate, nine senatorial
candidates, 36 party-list groups and 70 political parties as having
failed to submit their SECEs. The list doesn't include yet those who
ran for local positions; the roster of names of local candidates,
according to the report, runs 457 pages.
Some of the parties and candidates
highlighted in the report as having not complied with the law are:
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United Opposition (UNO) Party
that supported Vice President Binay during his campaign -
have not submitted their
SECE, though Binay submitted his already in June 2010; UNO
was one of two registered political parties that
nominated Binay, but there is contention whether UNO
participated during the campaign, hence the non-submission
of a SECE |
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Partido ng Masang Pilipino
(PMP) - though candidates it fielded -- like Senators Enrile
and Estrada -- have
already submitted their individual SECEs, the party has not |
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Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL)
- the party claims that the Comelec never required it to
submit an SECE because the poll body considers KBL as a
"penniless" party |
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Bangon Pilipinas of
presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva - the party
submitted an SECE that covered
contributions received by all its candidates, but did not
identify the amount received per candidate, which is
required by law |
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However, a good portion of the PCIJ report focused on the excess
campaign contributions received by President Aquino, and what was
done with the money, per Malacañang. According to the report,
President Aquino had nearly Php 37 million in excess campaign funds.
Though the PCIJ hailed Aquino's filing of his SECE and disclosing
the amount -- "a unitary exemplary act that all other candidates for
national office in the May 2010 elections failed to emulate" -- it
also said that Aquino "has not followed it up with a full disclosure
of what he did with the money." The report said the amount was
initially earmarked for donation to charity, as advised by his
fund-raisers, but this did not happen. Instead, according to
Malacañang:
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“Out of the Php 36,930,018.19
(excess campaign donations), Php18,356,859.88 was remitted
to the Bureau
of Internal Revenue (BIR) representing 5% creditable
withholding income tax on election related purchases" |
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“The campaign also spent
around Php 4,000,000.00 for the printing of sample ballots
that were distributed
nationwide before the elections. This expenditure was not
included in the SECE because under Section 101(k)
of the Omnibus Election Code, the cost of printing sample
ballots shall not be taken into account in determining
the amount of expenditures which a candidate may lawfully
incur in connection with his candidacy.” |
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“The rest of the excess
campaign funds were actually returned to some of the donors
who made substantial
contributions to the campaign.” Malacañang provided a list
containing the names of three donors to whom a
portion of their contribution was returned.
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In its report, the PCIJ raises concern
regarding the computation as well as the legal basis for the amount
Malacañang claimed was turned over to the BIR. It also highlights in
the report the question of which donor should any excess
contributions be returned to, which means that the income tax return
of Aquino and of said contributors for the election year would have
to be amended. The PCIJ also says that one of the contributors have
not received the amount that Malacañang said was returned. "The
implications are bad: It’s either Aquino
had under-reported his expenses in his Comelec report, or he had
under-declared the withholding tax he remitted to the BIR," the PCIJ
report reads.
The report comes in the thick of controversy surrounding the
investigations on anomalous disbursement of intelligence funds of
the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO) during the Arroyo
administration; records show that the amount of intelligence funds
held by PCSO nearly doubled in 2010, an election year, from Php 90
million from the previous year to Php 160 million. It is suspected
that money from PCSO, as well as other government agencies like
PhilHealth, was used by the former administration for election
campaign. The money from PCSO was also reportedly used in buying
expensive vehicles given to Catholic bishops who were perceived to
be close to former President Arroyo.
The PCIJ report highlights the need to take seriously the
stipulations of the law with regard campaign expenditures; the need
to have a clarification as to what exactly has to be done with
excess campaign contributions instead of being treated or viewed as
income; and for the government, specifically the Comelec, to have
the teeth to go after violators. The Comelec's new Campaign Finance
Steering Committee has their work cut out for them.
Read the PCIJ report.
Part 1: http://bit.ly/mUDOHh
Part 2: http://bit.ly/osRPlX |
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