Vilma did not violate SOCE rules – lawyer

MANILA, Philippines - Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos did not violate any election laws and cannot be forced to vacate her post, her legal counsel said yesterday.

Lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Santos complied with the requirements in filing her Statement of Election Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) in connection with the May 2013 elections.

Although Santos did not personally sign her SOCE, Macalintal said, it cannot be considered as a violation of election laws.

“The SOCE forms distributed by Comelec clearly show that an agent or treasurer of the candidate or the political party is authorized to sign the SOCE on behalf of the candidate or political party,” Macalintal explained.

“The SOCE signed by the agent also states, among others, that it reflects the ‘full, true, accurate and complete contributions received and expenditures incurred by him/her or by his duly authorized representative’ which again shows that an agent of a candidate could file the SOCE on his or on her behalf,” the lawyer added.

Thus, based on the instructions in the SOCE form, Macalintal said, Santos authorized their party treasurer to sign and file her SOCE.

If there was something wrong in the SOCE submitted by Santos, Macalintal said, the Comelec should have not accepted the form and her agent should been advised to comply with the requirements.