Comelec Proposes To Expose De Lima's SOCE

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has offered to expose the statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) of Senator Leila De Lima in case such document is needed in any investigation.

This was revealed by Comelec chairperson Andres Bautista, following the statements presented by convicted inmates in an inquiry before the House of Representatives, claiming that they helped De Lima in her finances during her senatorial campaign.

In a recent house inquiry, convicted inmate and drug lord Herbert Colanggo alleged that De Lima's funds in her senatorial campaign came from the illegal drugs, adding that the latter received millions each month.

De Lima has been under probe after she was accused of her alleged involvement on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison. However, the embattled senator did not acknowledge the inquiry against her, as she considered it a "sham" House probe.

Bautista said that the poll body is ready to provide the document if it's necessary since the SOCE is a public document.

For compliance, the Comelec is requiring all candidates and political parties to submit their SOCE 30 days after election day to determine the total expenses they had used in their campaigns.

“The SOCE is a public document, so if this is asked of us by the committees in the House of Representatives or the Senate, we’re ready to furnish them a copy,” Bautista said.

A total contribution of P86,831,095; with expenditures pegged at P88,153,300 appeared in De Lima's SOCE submitted to the Comelec.

Despite the Comelec's offer to reveal De Lima's SOCE, Bautista said they still cannot evaluate the senator's SOCE submitted to them, beyond what the law mandates.

“The Comelec does not know who are the drug pushers or drug kings, we don’t have a list of that. We don’t receive any confidential information on that. So we don’t have the technical know-how to make that determination,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer