Comelec to publicize candidates' documents starting in 2025
Source: The Manila times
Author: William B. Depasupil
MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) moved to make public election-related documents required from candidates for added transparency, starting in the upcoming 2025 national and local polls.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Thursday identified the required documents as the certificate of candidacy (CoC), statement of contribution and expenditures (SOCE) and the certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA).
'"Our proposal to post the CoC and the CoNA in the Comelec website has already been approved in principle," said Garcia, adding that the Comelec Legal Department and Information Technology Department have been tasked to make the corresponding policy guidelines without violating the privacy rights of candidates.
According to Garcia, the same would also be done with the SoCE so that the public would have a complete picture on the source of funding of a particular candidate.
In his memorandum to the Comelec en banc, Garcia said that the measure may form part of the e-SoCE project of the Commission, adding that publication should also allow for the downloading of said SoCEs.
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Garcia recommended that the Law Department and the Information Technology Department prepare the mechanism and/or platform to be used, draft the guidelines and suggest the timeline, including the deadline for publication of the SoCE.
"Said guidelines should adhere to the provisions of Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012," he added.
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Except for independent candidates, the CoC should be filed along with the sworn CoNA from the aspirant's political party or coalition.
Under the law, all candidates must submit their SoCE within 30 days from election day.
Aspirants for national posts have to personally file their CoCs or send their representatives to file on their behalf, before the Comelec
The legal basis for requiring candidates and political parties to submit "full, true and itemized" SoCEs is Section 14 of Republic Act 7166 or the Synchronized National and Local Elections Law. It provides that all candidates and treasurers of political parties are required to file their SOCEs.
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Winning candidates who overspent during the campaign period may also be removed from office even if they have already assumed office.