THE Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the submission of complete Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) within the 30-day period after the national and local elections is mandatory, and cannot be extended by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) through a mere resolution.
In an en banc decision written by Associate Justice Mario Lopez, the SC declared as void Comelec Resolution No. 10147 issued on June 23, 2016, extending the deadline for the filing of the SOCEs from June to June 30, 2016.
The SC held that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing the said resolution and resetting the SOCE deadline.
“The arbitrary extension of the deadline for the submission of the SOCEs effectively condoned erring candidates and political parties from administrative liabilities even if the law does not provide any exempting circumstances,” the SC noted.
The High Tribunal stressed that the Comelec’s blanket extension of the period to file SOCEs “amounts to usurpation of legislative power.”
Nonetheless, the High Court ruled that the SOCEs submitted within the extended deadline set under Comelec Resolution 10147 were deemed timely filed based on the doctrine of operative fact.
The doctrine recognizes the effects of the law or executive issuance prior to its invalidation when relied upon by the public in good faith.
“Here, the candidates and political parties that submitted their SOCEs following the extended deadline acted in good faith. They honestly believed on the resolution that was issued pursuant to the COMELEC’s rule-making authority,” the SC said.
The SC also noted that the Comelec even previously extended the deadline for the filing of SOCES in the 2010 and 2013 national and local elections, which were not questioned until the present case.
“Accordingly, the effects of accomplished acts prior to the invalidation of Comelec Resolution No. 10147 should be allowed to stand. The SOCEs submitted within the extended period or until June 30, 2016 are deemed timely filed,” the tribunal said.
The decision stemmed from the petition filed by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) on July 7, 2016 questioning the validity of Comelec Resolution No. 10147.
It argued that the Comelec exceeded the limits of its delegated rule-making authority and violated Section 14 of R.A. 7166 (An Act Providing for Synchronized National and Local Elections…) that SOCE must be filed within 30 days after the elections.
The petitioner argued that the Comelec should have retained the original deadline to avoid perceptions of partiality given that other candidates and political parties timely complied with the requirement.
However, the Comelec explained that the law in providing that “no person elected to any public office shall enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures herein required” implies that the SOCEs may be submitted beyond the 30-day period.
It added that it previously allowed extension of time in filing the SOCEs due to legal necessity and to prevent vacuum in the public service
But the SC said this interpretation by the Comelec was incorrect.
According to tribunal, legislative deliberations reveal that winning candidates must submit the SOCEs before assumption of office.
“Taken together, the COMELEC issued Resolution No. 1O147 with grave abuse of discretion which is arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, or despotic exercise of Judgment as when the assailed resolution is bereft of any factual and legal justification, or when the disputed act of the tribunal goes beyond the limits of discretion thus effecting an injustice,” the SC stressed.