Teban first winning bet to declare poll expenses

Provincial Board member-elect Julian “Teban” Daan is the first winning candidate to have submitted his sworn statement of election expenditures to the Provincial Office of the Commission on Elections as one of the requirements before a winning candidate can assume office.

Daan, who ran as an independent candidate for the Provincial Board in the first district of Cebu, declared that his total expenses only reached P270,000.  In his statement of expenditures presented yesterday, Daan said he never received any contributions from political parties/organizations being an independent candidate in the May 14 elections.

Daan cited he received the P120,000 from “other persons”, while the P150,000 were sourced from his personal funds.

Comelec assistant officer Boy Gonnie Nies said their office is expecting more candidates, who either won or lost in the recent May 14 elections, to submit their sworn statement of election expenditures to comply with Section 17 of Republic Act 7166.

Under the law, all candidates must submit a statement of expenditures within 30 days after the elections.  Those who fail to comply with this law will be subjected to “criminal punishment as provided by the Omnibus Election Code.”

Under Comelec Resolution 7794, official candidates of political parties are allowed to spend only P3 for every voter registered in the constituency where they filed their certificate of candidacy.

Nies, however, rejected the declaration submitted by defeated second district congressional candidate Jose Mari Lozada as Lozada only sent his statement of election expenditures via facsimile machine and that such was not duly notarized.

The statement showed Lozada’s total election expenses reached P45,000 only, and that he spent from his personal funds considering that his party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, did not provide funding for his campaign, he said.

Last Thursday, Provincial Board aspirants Archimedes Reroma, Eduardito Valdez and Dean Severo Dosado, as well as congressional candidate Gilbert Wagas, all from the fifth district, filed their sworn statements.

Wagas’ statement showed he spent P340,000 in his campaign while Reroma only spent P12,015.

Dosado and Valdez spent P160,000 and P132,000, respectively. The four candidates cited in their statements that the money they spent came from their personal funds.  — Garry B. Lao/MEEV