MANILA. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has called on the public to closely examine the Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) of candidates running in Eleksyon 2025, emphasizing the importance of transparency in campaign finances.
Comelec Chair George Garcia underscored the role of public scrutiny in verifying the accuracy of SOCE entries, as these documents will be made publicly available.
“Kailangan [makita ng tao ang SOCE] upang malaman kung talagang tama ba yung mga nire-report o baka mayroon silang hindi na-report mga gastusin. O kaya naman, may mga nagbigay na wala doon sa SOCE,” Garcia stated on the sidelines of GMA Integrated News’ Masterclass series on Saturday.
(It is important for the public to see the SOCE to determine whether the reported expenses are accurate or if there are unreported expenditures. There may also be donors who contributed but were not included in the SOCE.)
Garcia stressed that making SOCE accessible to the public ensures a broader counter-checking mechanism beyond the Comelec’s internal review. “Ganun ka-importante na andyan ‘yung SOCE, nakapublish, upang makounter-check ng hindi lang ng Comelec, kung hindi lang mga publiko,” he added.
(SOCE must be published so that not only Comelec but also the public can verify its contents.)
Despite its importance, Garcia admitted that SOCE has limitations, as it only accounts for campaign expenses incurred during the official campaign period, which lasts for two to three months. This excludes expenses made from the filing of candidacy, which takes place from October 1 to 8, as per a Supreme Court ruling.
“We have to comply with the ruling of the Supreme Court,” Garcia said.
Another challenge, according to Garcia, is the difficulty in detecting possible collusion between candidates and donors to underreport actual campaign expenditures.
“If they conspired, that would be very difficult to trace,” he noted.
Despite these challenges, Garcia emphasized that the SOCE serves as an important accountability tool to ensure that candidates adhere to election laws.
“What is important here is they have to submit the SOCE, because that is accountability. If a candidate goes around campaigning with disregard of the law, then you cannot expect anything out of that candidate if he or she gets elected,” Garcia pointed out.
Earlier, Garcia also announced that the Comelec is preparing a resolution that will presume celebrities and influencers endorsing candidates for Eleksyon 2025 are paid contractors, further reinforcing the commission’s efforts to ensure financial transparency in elections.
Carlo Juancho FuntanillaFrontend Developer, WordPress, Shopify
Contributing Editor
AMA ACLC San Pablo
- Carlo Juancho Funtanillahttps://tutubi.ph/author/carlojpf/
- Carlo Juancho Funtanillahttps://tutubi.ph/author/carlojpf/
- Carlo Juancho Funtanillahttps://tutubi.ph/author/carlojpf/
- Carlo Juancho Funtanillahttps://tutubi.ph/author/carlojpf/
