Resolution No. 10147: Extension to File SOCE

WHEREAS, the Commission En Banc received several letter requests for extension of the deadline to file the required SOCE for the May 9, 2016 National and Local Elections (NLE);

WHEREAS, as records show, the deadlines for the filing of SOCE has been invariably and consistently extended by the Commission out of legal necessity and particularly in the 2010 and 2013 NLE wherein the Commission allowed the extension of the deadline for filing of SOCE;

WHEREAS, in relation to the May 2010 NLE, the Commission promulgated Resolution No. 8944 mandating every candidate to file statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the elections not later than June 9, 2010;

WHEREAS, in relation to the May 2010 NLE, Section 17 (a) of Resolution No. 8944 reiterated the provision in Section 14 of RA 7166 when it stated that a person elected to any public office shall not enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the SOCE;

WHEREAS, in relation to the May 2010 NLE, the Commission, acting on a request to extend the deadline to file SOCE, decided to extend the deadline for the submission of SOCE from June 9, 2010 to June 24, 2010;

WHEREAS, with regard to the May 2013 National Elections, the Commission promulgated Resolution No. 9476 likewise mandating every candidate to file SOCE not later than 30 days after the election, or until June 12, 2013;

WHEREAS, the June 12, 2013 deadline set in Resolution No. 9476 was extended by the Commission to May 12, 2014 through Resolution 9849;

WHEREAS, the Commission further resolved to extend the deadline from June 12, 2013 to May 12, 2014 to enable candidates and parties who failed to submit their SOCEs or whose SOCEs do not comply with the RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND DISCLOSURE to submit or correct their campaign finance statements or reports;

WHEREAS, as stated in Resolution No. 9849, the Commission allowed the extension of the deadline "[i]n order to encourage disclosure by candidates and parties their campaign contributions and expenditures during the 2013 NLE and to enable the Commission to initiate the filing of administrative cases for the violation of Section 14 of Republic Act No, 7166 and election offenses related to campaign finance";

WHEREAS, on May 15, 2014, or after the lapse of the supposedly final and non-extendible May 12, 2014 deadline for filing SOCE as set in Resolution No. 9849, the Commission promulgated Resolution No. 9873 extending once again the deadline from May 12, 2014 to June 30, 2014;

WHEREAS, under Section 14 of R.A. 7166, it is expressly provided that:

WHEREAS, it is clear from the express language of the above-quoted provision that the phrase, "until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures herein required", implies that the SOCE may be filed beyond the deadline of thirty (30) days from the date of the elections as fixed therein.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission En Banc, RESOLVED as it hereby RESOLVES, to EXTEND the deadline of filing the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures to 30 June 2016 (Thursday) at 5:00 p.m, thereby amending Section 2 of Rule 10 of Comelec Resolution No. 9991, insofar as the deadline is concerned in order to: (a) enable candidates and parties who failed to submit their SOCEs or whose SOCEs do not comply with the RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND DISCLOSURE to submit or correct their campaign finance statements or reports; and (b) encourage disclosure by candidates and parties their campaign contributions and expenditures during the 2016 NLE and to enable the Commission to initiate the filing of administrative cases for the violation of Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7166 and election offenses related to campaign finance.

The Commission, in resolving the issue at hand, sought guidance in the rationale of Section 13 and 14 of R.A. 7166, which is to ensure a level playing field among candidates and parties and give flesh to the constitutional guarantee of equal access of opportunities for public service (1987 Constitution, Art. II, Sec. 26). And one measure to achieve this end is to strictly confine the contributions and expenditures of those running for public office within the limits set by law.

Is allowing extension of the deadline preventing the Commission from doing its mandated task of finding whether those who ran for public office, including their respective parties, complied within the limits set forth in the law?

No, it will in fact ensure compliance with the law.

COMELEC Resolution 9991 provides in its Rule 1 and Rule 10, thusly:

Thus, the receipt by the Commission of the SOCE and the issuance of the Certificate of Compliance is n1erely an acknowledgement of the fact of receipt and compliance of the requirement for the filing of the SOCE without prejudice, and subject to, a subsequent determination by the Commission that the submitted documents show actual compliance with the legal limits for campaign contributions and expenditures as fixed by law.

It is true that some if not most of the candidates and political parties were able to file their SOCE within the 30-day period. Ordinarily, it stands to reason that those who failed should not be rewarded with an extension of the deadline. But there is a higher consideration, namely, extending the period for filing will precisely ensure that all possible evidence of election overspending are admitted into the record, rather than excluded.

The simple expediency of not accepting the SOCE if filed beyond the deadline and just imposing a fine is in effect throwing away the evidence of any infraction of the campaign finance rules and unwittingly assisting in hiding the evidence.

A case in point comes to mind. Extension of the deadline did not prevent the Commission from enforcing campaign rules when it unseated sitting Governor ER Ejercito in the 2013 NLE for excessive campaign spending. In that election, the Commission extended the filing of the SOCE by one (1) year.

The Commission is not digressing from the gains made in the implementation of the rules on Campaign Finance. The stringent application of election laws must give way to the principle of liberality in their enforcement if a strict application will result in negating the will of the electorate.

The Commission cannot and will not prevent hundreds of elected officials from assuming office.

The Commission has express and inherent power to suspend or relax its rules of procedure. Moreover, rules of procedure are mere tools to attain substantial justice, and technicalities can never override the mandate that our people had given to our elected officials in the 2016 NLE.

We find it abhorrent to adopt the erroneous interpretation that our duly elected public officials cannot assume office simply because of the failure of the party treasurer to submit the party's SOCE within the 30-day deadline. The resulting frustration of the people's mandate, the widespread vacuum in the public service, and the likelihood of a constitutional crisis, constitute an absurdity not contemplated by the law. These are risks that the Commission is not willing to take.

RESOLVED, FURTHER, as the COMMISSION hereby FURTHER RESOLVES, to impose administrative fines upon candidates and parties who fail to file their SOCEs on or before June 30, 2016 based on the Scale of Administrative Fines provided in Resolution No. 9939.

The Education and Information Department (EID) shall cause the immediate publication of a general notice to all 2016 NLE candidates, political parties, and partylist groups, informing them of this deadline extension in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation

The Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations (ODEDO) shall disseminate this Resolution to all field offices of the Commission.

The Campaign Finance Office shall implement this Resolution with utmost dispatch.

SO ORDERED.