SOCE Regulatory Measure: Expenditure Limit

The regulation of campaign finance by imposing a maximum limit on campaign expenditures is not a new measure. It has been in place since the Batasang Pambansa or the National Assembly enacted Batas Pambansa Bilang 881³ in 1985, antedating even the 1987 Constitution. Sections 100 and 101 of the Omnibus Election Code ("OEC") state:

"Sec. 100. Limitations upon expenses of candidates. - No candidate shall spend for his election campaign an aggregate amount exceeding one peso and fifty centavos (PhP 1.50) for every voter currently registered in the constituency where he filed his candidacy: Provided, That the expenses herein referred to shall include those incurred or caused to be incurred by the candidate, whether in cash or in kind, including the use, rental or hire of land, water or aircraft, equipment, facilities, apparatus and paraphernalia used in the campaign: Provided, further, That where the land, water or aircraft, equipment, facilities, apparatus and paraphernalia used is owned by the candidate, his contributor or supporter, the Commission is hereby empowered to assess the amount commensurate with the expenses for the use thereof, based on the prevailing rates in the locality and shall be included in the total expenses incurred by the candidate.

ADVISORY ON PUBLIC WORKS BAN

The Commission on Elections thru the Campaign Finance Office issued an advisory pertaining to the prohibition stated in Section 261 (v) and (w) of the Omnibus Election Code that will provide answers to various inquiries.

Elements that Constitute Violations of Section
261(v) and (w) of the Omnibus Election Code

Before discussing how the CFO processes and/ or evaluates the requests for exemption from Section 267 (v) and (w), it is essential to establish the basic foundational elements of what constitutes a violation of Section 261, (v) and (w).

BOARD OF ELECTION INSPECTORs TRAINING

In preparation of the 2016 elections the Commission on Elections in the Province of Romblon conducted a series of trainings for the public school teachers who will serve as members of the Board of Election Inspectors.

The series of training comprising two (2) days per batch started February 29 until it ended last March 22, 2016. 100% of the teachers gained complete training.

OMNIBUS RULES ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE

In the matter of the STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTION & EXPENDITURE (SOCE) of all candidates applicable starting May 09, 2016 elections and for all subsequent national and local elections, Commission on Elections promulgated Resolution No. 9991 last October 02, 2015 as the Omnibus Rules & Regulations Governing Campaign Finance and Disclosure or for brevity sake the "OMNIBUS RULES ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE".

VOTE BUYING STARTS?

Vote buying starts 

Written by  Tribune Editorial   
Friday, 15 January 2016 00:00 
Published at The Daily Tribune Online

Remember the resurrection of the unconstitutional Disbursement Acceleration Program called Bottom-Up Budgeting (BuB), that Budget Secretary and Liberal Party (LP) strategist Butch Abad describes as people’s participation in the budget?
The BuB has been repackaged as an LP campaign tool with Abad promising P1 million in BuB for each barangay starting next year.