Comelec asked to withdraw order unseating elected execs

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) was asked yesterday to withdraw an order for elected officials to vacate their office until they have complied with the requirements on campaign finance disclosure.

Lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Comelec Resolution 9834 had clarified that the fine imposed on the officials does not constitute an administrative fine as defined under Section 14 of Republic Act 7166, the Synchronized Election Law of 1991.

“In other words, there is no more violation of the SOCE rules under Section 14 of RA 7166, which could be the basis to remove or order an elected official to vacate his post,” he said.

However, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the resolution only pertains to administrative liabilities, not an order to temporarily vacate their posts.

“It does not have anything to do with the order of the commission for them to correct first the imperfections of their occupation of their offices, which is having invalid SOCEs,” he said.

The law requires all candidates to file their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs) within 30 days after election day.

Promulgated last Dec. 17, Resolution 9834 states that the payment of a fine together with the submission of a complete and fully compliant SOCE does not make  candidates administratively liable for violation of RA 7166.

Last week, the Comelec ordered a total of 422 elected officials to temporarily vacate their posts after being found to have failed to file valid SOCEs.

As of Monday, 66 of them have complied and the Comelec deemed them eligible to occupy their posts.