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Possible Defense of COMELEC Against PEDRO

Section 14 of RA 7166 mandates that candidates file a full and itemized statement of contributions and expenditures within 30 days of the election. Pedro's claim that he mistakenly included expenses should be disregarded, as it is the candidate's responsibility to ensure accurate reporting. The use of the word "shall" in the statute makes compliance mandatory. The state has an interest in transparent and clean elections that accurately reflect the will of voters. Laws regulate contributions and expenditures to achieve this objective.

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Jani Misterio
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78 views1 page

Possible Defense of COMELEC Against PEDRO

Section 14 of RA 7166 mandates that candidates file a full and itemized statement of contributions and expenditures within 30 days of the election. Pedro's claim that he mistakenly included expenses should be disregarded, as it is the candidate's responsibility to ensure accurate reporting. The use of the word "shall" in the statute makes compliance mandatory. The state has an interest in transparent and clean elections that accurately reflect the will of voters. Laws regulate contributions and expenditures to achieve this objective.

Uploaded by

Jani Misterio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Possible defense of COMELEC against PEDRO:

1st par., section 14 of R.A 7166 provides that “Statement of Contributions and Expenditures: Effect of
Failure to File Statement. Every candidate and treasurer of the political party shall, within thirty (30) days
after the day of the election, file in duplicate with the offices of the Commission the full, true and itemized
statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election.”

 The defense of Pedro that he mistakenly included the abovementioned expenses should be
disregarded since it is the primal responsibility of every candidate to assure that they submit a
full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the
election. Common sense would also tell us that a candidate who aspires for any governmental
position would avoid any possible acts that would warrant his disqualification in the position
aspired for.

In addition, Section 14 of the law uses the word "shall." As a general rule, the use of the word "shall" in a
statute implies that the statute is mandatory, and imposes a duty which may be enforced , particularly if
public policy is in favor of this meaning or where public interest is involved. We apply the general rule
(Baranda v. Gustilo, 165 SCRA 757 [1988]; Diokno v. Rehabilitation Finance Corporation, 91 Phil. 608
[1952]).

The state has an interest in seeing that the electoral process is clean, and ultimately expressive of the true
will of the electorate. One way of attaining such objective is to pass legislation regulating contributions
and expenditures of candidates, and compelling the publication of the same. Admittedly, contributions
and expenditures are made for the purpose of influencing the results of the elections (B.P. Blg. 881, Sec.
94; Resolution No. 2348, Sec. 1).

Thus, laws and regulations prescribe what contributions are prohibited or unlawful, (B.P. Blg. 881, Sec. 95,
Resolution No. 2348, Sec. 4), and what expenditures are authorized (B.P. Blg. 881, Sec. 102; R.A. No. 7166,
Sec. 13; Resolution No. 2348, Sec. 7) or lawful (Resolution No. 2348, Sec. 8).

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