Puzzling: Some SALNs and SOCEs of candidates do not match.
PUZZLING- The Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) and Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worths (SALN) of some election candidates do not match.
One of the most recent issues that have sparked headlines lately is about the SOCE. The candidates of the 2016 national election have submitted their SOCEs to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Based on a previous news report, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has been funded by wealthy businessmen during the election campaign. It even emphasized that 13 of his biggest donors gave him more than P334-million of his total campaign fund.
Recently, a report in Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism entailed that there are candidates whose SALN do not match with the SOCE that they have filed.
Based on the report from PCIJ, one of those candidates is the former chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Francis N. Tolentino, who declared that he has paid expenses worth P67.2 million from his own pockets. The said amount is actually an additional already to the donations which ranged to P132-million.
According to the report, Tolentino has no sufficient monetary assets to pay for the P67.2 million from his own pockets when he was campaigning for a senatorial spot. More or less from 2012-2014, his average net worth is at P41.9 million.
Another is former Energy Sec. Carlos Jericho L. Petilla who used about 71% of his declared riches for his election campaign. Based on the report, Petilla used P86.7 million from his own pockets for the campaign.
Another ‘eye-brow raising’ is the report of the former Representative of Bayan Muna, Neri J. Colmenares. In the report, it is noted that Colmenares paid P10.4 million from his personal money for the expenses during the election campaign.
Furthermore, it is stated in his SOCE that he donated P500,000 to his election campaign. According to the PCIJ report, the net worth of Colmenares in 2015 is at P2.55 million.
Colmenares’ real properties declared is amounting to worth P1.85 million while his personal properties and liabilities are amounting to P1.54 million and P835, 981.41 respectively.
