According to LP spokesman Barry Gutierrez, Roxas and the Liberal Party need 14 more days to complete the filing of their SOCE.
“The primary reason is the volume number of receipts that have to be scanned and attached to the document, in compliance with the rules and in the interest of complete transparency,” Gutierrez relayed in a statement.
All the candidates are required to file a SOCE, where they will declare the amount of contributions they received during the campaign, in cash or in kind, and how much they actually spent for the campaign.
The other four presidential candidates were able to beat the SOCE deadline.
Those who failed to file their SOCE on time may have to pay hefty fines and penalties.
Section 11 of the Omnibus Election Code gives candidates 30 days after the elections to submit their SOCEs, regardless of the result of the elections. Those who fail to file their SOCEs on the deadline will have to pay an administrative fine ranging from P10,000 to P30,000, depending on what position they were running for.
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Those who won the elections for both local and national positions but failed to file their SOCEs will be barred from occupying their positions.
Candidates who have violated this rule twice will face “perpetual disqualification” from holding an elective or appointive position in the government, according to Atty. Mazna Lutchavez-Vergara of the Comelec Campaign Office.
As for Roxas’ request for an extension, the Comelec is reportedly still deliberating over it.
“It is up to the en banc. They will discuss that maybe Thursday,” said Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez.
He added, “I cannot preview whether or not it’s likely or unlikely to be granted. Right now all we are going on is the earlier pronouncement of the Comelec saying that there will be no extension.”
Jimenez said that the commission will take several factors into account to come up with a decision.
“We have to see also if the same considerations apply to other candidates because, of course, the question is if the other candidates managed, why didn’t you? So, there will be a lot of discussions about that specifically the grounds raised as justification for any sort of extension,” Jimenez said.
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