Category: Congress Watch

Robredo, Escudero, Trillanes: What their 2015 SALN show

mcmangahas

By Vino Lucero

THREE OF THE SIX candidates for vice president have released copies of their respective Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) for 2015 within 24 hours upon receipt of PCIJ’s request.

The three – Senator Francis Escudero of Team Galing at Puso, independent candidate Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and Representative Leni Robredo of the administration Liberal Party — separately declared slight upticks and downturns in their net worth from a year ago.

As of last yearend, Robredo said her net worth was P 8,711,803; Trillanes, P5,984,089.77; and Escudero, P5,847,082.09.

PCIJ has no copy as yet of the 2015 SALN of the three other candidates for vice president: Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Nacionalista Party, Gregorio Honasan II of the United Nationalist Alliance, and Allan Peter Cayetano, also of the Nacionalista Party.

As of their 2014 SALN on file with the PCIJ, Marcos is the richest of the six candidates for vice president with net worth of P200,598,008.22, Cayetano is a distant second with P23,314,540, and Honasan third with P21,225,615.91.

The 2015 SALN of MARIA LEONOR ROBREDO

MARIA LEONOR GERONA ROBREDO, widow of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash in 2012, reported a P400,000 uptick in her SALN for 2015 from only P8,302,123.70 in 2014.

She also declared an increase in total assets at P17,111,803, or P2 million more than what she had in 2014, P14,932,123.70. At the same time, though, she also increased her liabilities by P1.5 million, or from P6.9 million in 2014 to P8.4 million in 2015.

As in 2014, she reported having the same eight pieces of real assets, all located in Naga City, with combined acquisition cost of P1.735 million: three agricultural lots located in Del Rosario and Panicuason; an orchard in Pacol; a house in Dayangdang; two residential lots located in Dayangdang and Sta. Cruz; and a memorial lot at Eternal Gardens.

What grew in value, however, are Robredo’s personal properties: P15,376,803 in 2015, including a P2-million increase in her “cash” assets to P10,273,803, from P8,049,123.70 in 2014.

Download (PDF, 410KB)

She enrolled unchanged values for her other personal properties in her latest SALN:

• Furniture, appliances, and other equipment, P1,500,000;
• Jewelry, P100,000;
• Pre-paid insurance, P630,000;
• A Toyota Innova acquired in 2010 at a price of P1,123,000; and
• A Toyota Grandia acquired in 2014 at a price of P1,750,000.

Her liabilities registered an increase, too. These include loans she acquired from family members, notably:

• Loans payable to the “Estate of Marcelina Robredo” and “Estate of Jose Robredo,” unchanged at P1 million and P2 million, respectively;
• Loan from Jose Robredo, Jr., increased from P1.15 million to P1.65 million;
• Loan from Jocelyn Austria, increased from P2 million to 2.5 million; and
• Loan from her mother Salvacion Gerona, up from P750,000 to P1.25 million.

Robredo also declared shares of stock in Meralco, with business address in Pasig City, which she said were acquired at “different years.”

She named two relatives in government: Josephine and Rafael Bundoc, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, both doctors in UP PGH Manila.

Robredo only has one child of minor age, Jillian Therese, who is now 16 years old.

The 2015 SALN of FRANCIS JOSEPH ESCUDERO

FRANCIS JOSEPH ESCUDERO declared a net worth of P5,847,082.09 in his SALN for 2015, nearly P200,000 less than that in his 2014 SALN of P6,049,082.09.

He said he owns one-sixth of five real properties acquired by succession in 2013, including four residential properties located in Barangay Culiat in Quezon City, and Maharlika Highway in Barangay Buhatan, Sorsogon City.

An agricultural lot in Maharlika Highway, Sorsogon City, was enrolled in his SALN to have been inherited.

Escudero said he also also owns one-sixth of “Marketable Securities” with a fair market value of P105.414.79.

The senator valued his total personal properties at P5,847,082.09 in his latest SALN, a bit lower than his 2014 declaration of P6,049,082.09.

A vintage car aficionado, Escudero said his personal properties include

• A 1995 Range Rover Classic acquired in 2011 at P1 million;
• A 1969 BMW 2002 acquired in 2011 at P333,640.80:
• A 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser acquired in 2014 at P1.3 million;
• Jewelry and other personal properties valued at P1.405 million,;
• Shares in “Partnership Int.” worth P213,441.29; and
• “Cash” amounting to P1.6 million.

As in his 2014 SALN, in his 2015 SALN Escudero declared zero liabilities.

In two separate sheets, however, he listed the “exclusive properties of the declarant’s spouse and unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age living in declarant’s household.”

In the first sheet, he enrolled the assets and liabilities of his wife, Love Marie O. Escudero, who is also known as the TV/movie star Heart Evangelista.

The properties in Love Marie’s name that Escudero declared include a condominium in Salcedo Village, Makati acquired in 2005 at P8.5 million and a unit in Fairways Tower in BGC, Taguig, acquired in 2009 at P3.91 million.

The actress also declared her cash at P44.31 million, investment in stocks at P15.37 million, motor vehicles acquired in various years at P3.98 million, and jewelry and other personal properties at P6.85 million.

Also among the declarations is a bank loan at Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. amounting to P3.09 million. Love Marie disclosed her being a stockholder since 2014 of Bigheart Holdings, Inc.

In the second sheet of assets, Escudero listed the properties in the name of his twin children by his first wife: two residential units in Woodside Homes, New Manila, Quezon City, both of which were acquired in 2012 by virtue of a court order. Each of Escudero’s two children also has P959,193.17 cash declared in the senator’s SALN.

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Since 1994, Escudero said he has been a partner at Escudero Marasigan Vallente & E.H Villareal Law Offices, with business address at Manila Luxury Condominium in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Five relatives in government were named in Escudero’s SALN, four them occupying elective posts:

• His mother Evelina Escudero, incumbent representative of Sorsogon’s 1st District;
• Paternal uncle Antonio H. Escudero Jr., vice governor of Sorsogon;
• Paternal uncle Ramon Escudero as vice mayor of Casiguran, Sorsogon;
• Paternal cousin Krunimar Antonio Escudero II, Sorsogon provincial board member; and
• Paternal cousin Krunimar Antonio Escudero III, legal officer at the Civil Service Commission.

The 2015 SALN of ANTONIO TRILLANES IV

ANTONIO TRILLANES IV declared a net worth of P5,984,089.77, over a million pesos more than the P4,912,000 that he reported in his 2013 SALN.

The senator declared total real assets of P5.9 million, total personal properties of P6.61 million, and liabilities of P6.2 million, as of Dec. 31, 2015.

His real assets included a residential lot at the Metropolis Greens Subdivision in General Trias, Cavite acquired from 1998 to 2011 at P452,000; a residential lot in Town and Country Executive Village, Antipolo, Rizal acquired in 2009 at P2 million through loan; a residential unit with one parking slot in Woodsville, Parañaque acquired in 2010 at P3.45 million through loan; and an inherited residential lot in Barangay San Isidro, General Santos City acquired in 2012.

Trillanes disclosed his cash on hand and in bank to be worth P2.7 million; jewelry, furniture, and antiques, P550,000; and investments at P600,000. He said he owns a Mitsubishi Montero that he acquired in 2013 at P1.17 million, and a Toyota Fortuner. acquired in 2014 at P1.25 million.

Download (PDF, 924KB)


In his SALN for 2013, Trillanes valued his personal properties at a higher P6.61 million in total.

His liabilities went down from P7.6 million to P6.2 million, as of December 2015. These included, he said, housing loans from Pag-ibig Fund amounting to P1,203,200.00 and Bank of the Philippine Islands at P1,322,872.00; car loans at PS Bank, P515,686.73, and Banco de Oro, P143,151,50; and a personal loan he valued at P3 million.

Trillanes declared two relatives in government: his brother Antonio F. Trillanes III, his personal staff at the Senate; and his sister-in-law Pia Jane Trillanes, his personal staff in Commission on Appointments.

The senator also provided a breakdown of the sources of income of his immediate family for 2015:

• His income as senator, P1.08 million;
• Spouse’s income as professor at National University, P950,000;
• “Donation from Family”, P600,000; and
• Interest income from AFPSLAI, PNSLAI, and PAFCPIC of P420,000.

Altogether, these amounts yield a total annual income of P3.05 million for his family, Trillanes stated in his latest SALN. — PCIJ, May 2016

_____________________________________
For details, check out PCIJ’s Money Politics Online

95 SOCE non-filers running again, despite ‘perpetual disqualification’

mcmangahas

By Jake Crisologo

THEY WISH to lead the nation but refuse to comply even with the most basic rules: Report to the Commission on Elections how much money they raised and spent in their campaign for public office, one month after election day. In fact, they have mocked the rules not just once but twice, and for some, thrice, in elections past.

At least 873 candidates who ran for national and local posts from the 2007 to the 2013 elections should be banned for life from running again, according to the Commission on Elections’ Campaign Finance Office (CFO). This is because these candidates had not filed their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) in the last three elections.

PCIJ. Non-filers by region. may 2016

Indeed, while they may contest the ruling of the CFO, for all intents and purposes, their names remain enrolled in the Comelec’s list of candidates for “perpetual disqualification.” Win or lose, the Comelec has ruled that all candidates and parties must file SOCEs.

Yet at least 95 of these seem truly incorrigible, and are running again in the May 2016 elections. They include one candidate for senator, eight for district representative, eight for governor, at least 33 for mayor, 11 for vice mayor, and 34 for councilor of various cities and towns.

Resolution No. 9991, the Omnibus Rules on Campaign Finance that Comelec issued on Oct. 2, 2015, states that on its own, the CFO “may file petitions to disqualify” a candidate, including for failure to submit his or her SOCE “in relation to at least two elections.”

In that situation, Rule 13 of Resolution No. 9991, spells out the penalty as being “perpetual disqualification to hold public office.”

Commissioner Christian Robert S. Lim, head of Comelec’s CFO, concedes, though, that the delinquents may still turn to “due process” as their final recourse and contest or appeal his office’s decision.

Mostly local bets

Comelec data show that by position, the list of delinquent candidates is dominated by candidates to local positions. They make up 75 percent of the total.

At least 680 have sought seats as councilor in various Sangguniang Bayan or Municipal Council (530 candidates), Sangguniang Panglungsod or City Council (150 candidates), and Sangguniang Panlalawigan or Provincial Council (120 candidates).

Another 123 had run for vice mayor, 116 for mayor, 11 for vice governor, 19 for governor, and seven for membership in the regional assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM.

In addition, 41 of these delinquent candidates had aspired to become members of the House of Representatives, and one, to be senator.

The total number of candidates by position at 1,100 is higher than actual number of individuals because some of the same candidates had run for different positions across election years.

A fourth from ARMM

Interestingly, by regional spread, one in four of the delinquent candidates, or 212, came from ARMM. But defiance of election law seems to be an epidemic across all the regions of the Philippines.

Other regions with delinquent candidates include: CALABARZON, 94 candidates; Davao Region, 90; Cordillera Administrative Region, 81; Central Luzon, 60; SOCCSKSARGEN, 60; National Capital Region, 59; Western Visayas, 36; Ilocos Region, 28; Cagayan Valley, 33; Central Visayas, 25; MIMAROPA, 24; Eastern Visayas, 21; Northern Mindanao, 19; Zamboanga Peninsula, 17; Bicol Region,16; and Caraga, seven.

(The delinquents from the relatively new Negros Island Region were included in the counts from Western and Central Visayas or Negros Occidental and Oriental. These two now make up Negros Island Region, which was formed only on May 19, 2015 by virtue of Executive Order No. 183.)

The count per region and per province of 882 candidates is closer to the calculated number of individuals at 873, which was derived from subtracting the number of repeated names for candidates who had run in two or more localities.

A big majority of these delinquent candidates had run as independents, or without any political party affiliation.

From parties of presidents

An interesting picture emerges for a subgroup of 131 delinquent candidates who had run for district representative, governor, and vice governor from the 2007 to the 2013 elections, including 18 candidates running again in the May 2016 elections.

In this subgroup, 87 are independents but a significant number had run as candidates of the national political parties led by the incumbent and former presidents of the country:

* Eleven of the delinquents in this subgroup ran as candidates of the Liberal Party (LP) of President Benigno S. Aquino III;

• Eight from the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of ousted President Joseph Estrada that is part of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance;

• Six from the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI) of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo;

• Seven from the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos; and

• Five from the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) of former President Fidel Ramos.

PCIJ. Non-filers of SOCE, By Party, may 2016

The more prominent names in the list of delinquents include erstwhile rebel leader Nur Misuari who ran for governor of Sulu province in 2007 and 2010, and again for regional governor of ARMM in 2013. In all three instances, Misuari ran as an independent candidate. And in all three instances, too, he did not file his election spending report.

Yet another is Macario Asistio Jr., who ran for vice mayor in 2010, and mayor in 2013, of Caloocan City, and on both occasions failed to submit his SOCE to the Comelec.

Still a third is Ismael ‘Chuck’ Mathay III, sole son of former long-time Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. Chuck Mathay ran and won as representative of Quezon City’s 2nd District in 2007 and 2010 and, like Asistio, failed to file his SOCE both times.

Running once more

From the roster of delinquent candidates come a few who have again filed their candidacies for various posts in the May 2016 elections. They include

• Kadra Asana Masihul, KBL, Sulu, who ran for provincial governor in 2013, now running for Board Member in the 1st District of Sulu;
• Albert Hans Corvera Palacios, Independent, 4th District Quezon City, who is running for the same position; he ran under the PMP banner in 2013;
• Pablo Camabrejan Villabar, KBL, Davao del Sur, running again for first district representative as an independent as in the 2013 elections;
• Amin Guintawan Sindao, independent, North Cotabato, running again for third district representative;
• Telesforo Magramo Gaan, independent candidate for governor of Romblon;
• Delfina Dorman Bicatulo, independent candidate for governor of Bukidnon;
• Ahmadjan Marogong Abdulcarim, independent candidate for governor of Lanao Del Sur;
• Justo III Hernandez Orros, independent candidate for vice governor of La Union; and
• Morsalim Alap-Polao Binnortominoray, Liberal Party candidate for vice governor of Lanao Del Sur, but independent candidate in 2013.

The lone candidate for senator, Greco Belgica, had challenged the inclusion of his name in the Comelec’s disqualification list when it first came out in December 2015. In a text message, he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer: “I filed and signed my SOCE in 2007 and 2013 so I cannot be charged for not filing my SOCE. Someone must be manipulating the records. The question is who?”

Belgica, Manila city councilor from 2004 to 2007, was a lead petitioner in a case that was filed before the Supreme Court in 2013 questioning the constitutionality of the pork-barrel system.

Weak parties

According to PulseAsia Research President Ronald Holmes, who is also a political science professor at De La Salle University, the presence of a big majority of “independent” candidates in the list of delinquents illustrates the weakness of the political party system in the country.

Notably, too, many of the candidates on the list have shifted from one to another political party across election years. This is consistent, Holmes says, with the culture of “turncoatism” or the relative ease by which politicians affiliate with different, but usually the dominant, political parties, during regime shifts.

“We don’t have substantive political parties in this country,” says Holmes. “They are basically absent. The large number of independents is not surprising and may simply mean that one does not have to be affiliated to run, and maybe even win, during the elections.”

When one considers the dynamics between politicians once they are in office, however, a different picture emerges.

At a recent public forum, Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza tackled political turncoatism by the candidates in regard to their quest for resources during election campaigns.

“On the local level, for example, it would be easier to engage the national government if you are allied with the current dominant party,” Mendoza said. “This can be in terms of resources, like budgets, and approvals for policies and contracts you want in your jurisdiction.”

PCIJ. Non-filers of SOCE, By Position, may 2016

No party discipline

This is not necessarily incongruous to Holmes’s assessment of the weakness of political parties during elections. Holmes even expresses little optimism when asked if political parties should or could be held responsible for policing their members who did not file their SOCEs.

“The parties themselves do not have that discipline,” he says. “Even at the national level, the dominating party is not necessarily strong or unified.”

For instance, after the May 2010 elections, “the Liberal Party was dominant but they couldn’t agree on who among them was supposed to be Senate President,” Holmes points out. “So someone not from the party took the position.”

Juan Ponce Enrile of the Nacionalista Party was elected Senate President in 2010 by a fragile coalition of political parties in the Upper Chamber.

Even the past presidents have had a history of party switching, Holmes says, adding that, “independence” is primarily a legal label than an individuality of thought or principles. Being an independent candidate, he says, simply means one was not formally nominated or affiliated with a party.

In Holmes’s book, it is highly possible that a majority of “independent” candidates on the list of delinquents may have had informal connections with the established political parties.

“They may,” he says. “This is largely determined by the dynamics on the ground and how they engage each other to achieve their goals. Take Grace Poe, for example. She’s currently independent but she may be ‘adopted’ by present political parties in the long run.”

Clans drive politics

But could, or should, delinquent candidates be allowed to run for office again?

Holmes voices concern that other than Comelec, political clans continue to drive the choice of candidates and the results of elections in many parts of the country.

“There are many powerful families and they can take control of representation mechanisms in their territories,” he observes. “The head of a political clan can determine what happens more than any external body, the Commission on Elections included.”

In areas where virulent clans with private armies rule, election officials may be hard put enforcing Comelec’s decision to disqualify delinquent candidates.

Still and all, in October 2015, when Comelec first came out with its initial list of delinquent candidates, CFO head Commissioner Lim had declared the poll body’s commitment to uphold the rule of law.

He told reporters that it was the first time Comelec had spelled out rules on the filing of petitions for disqualification of candidates who had failed to submit election spending reports to the poll body.

But because the rules provide the delinquents the opportunity to file appeals, Comelec can only collect and impose fines on such candidates until the CFO’s decision becomes final and executory.

Schedule of fines

On June 12, 2012, in Resolution No. 9476, Comelec said that for failure to file SOCEs for the first time, candidates, depending on the elective post they had run for, must pay an administrative fine ranging from P1,000 to P30,000, and for the second offense, from P2,000 to P60,000.

That could mean a tidy sum for Comelec – that is, if it does go after the delinquents to collect the fines and the candidates actually pay up.

For the 2013 elections alone, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista had told reporters that 4,677 or about one in 10 of the candidates who ran for elective positions (net of the party-list groups) had failed to file their SOCEs, as of the deadline of July 2013. Bautista’s estimate is that the poll body could raise up to P52 million in fines from these delinquents.

But until the Comelec’s decision to perpetually bar these candidates from running for public office, becomes final and executory, there is only one, final, true judge and jury on these cases: the Filipino voter. — PCIJ, April 2016
______________________________________________
For details, check out PCIJ’s Money Politics Online

95 SOCE non-filers running again, despite ‘perpetual disqualification’

mcmangahas

By Jake Crisologo

THEY WISH to lead the nation but refuse to comply even with the most basic rules: Report to the Commission on Elections how much money they raised and spent in their campaign for public office, one month after election day. In fact, they have mocked the rules not just once but twice, and for some, thrice, in elections past.

At least 873 candidates who ran for national and local posts from the 2007 to the 2013 elections should be banned for life from running again, according to the Commission on Elections’ Campaign Finance Office (CFO). This is because these candidates had not filed their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) in the last three elections.

PCIJ. Non-filers by region. may 2016

Indeed, while they may contest the ruling of the CFO, for all intents and purposes, their names remain enrolled in the Comelec’s list of candidates for “perpetual disqualification.” Win or lose, the Comelec has ruled that all candidates and parties must file SOCEs.

Yet at least 95 of these seem truly incorrigible, and are running again in the May 2016 elections. They include one candidate for senator, eight for district representative, eight for governor, at least 33 for mayor, 11 for vice mayor, and 34 for councilor of various cities and towns.

Resolution No. 9991, the Omnibus Rules on Campaign Finance that Comelec issued on Oct. 2, 2015, states that on its own, the CFO “may file petitions to disqualify” a candidate, including for failure to submit his or her SOCE “in relation to at least two elections.”

In that situation, Rule 13 of Resolution No. 9991, spells out the penalty as being “perpetual disqualification to hold public office.”

Commissioner Christian Robert S. Lim, head of Comelec’s CFO, concedes, though, that the delinquents may still turn to “due process” as their final recourse and contest or appeal his office’s decision.

Mostly local bets

Comelec data show that by position, the list of delinquent candidates is dominated by candidates to local positions. They make up 75 percent of the total.

At least 680 have sought seats as councilor in various Sangguniang Bayan or Municipal Council (530 candidates), Sangguniang Panglungsod or City Council (150 candidates), and Sangguniang Panlalawigan or Provincial Council (120 candidates).

Another 123 had run for vice mayor, 116 for mayor, 11 for vice governor, 19 for governor, and seven for membership in the regional assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM.

In addition, 41 of these delinquent candidates had aspired to become members of the House of Representatives, and one, to be senator.

The total number of candidates by position at 1,100 is higher than actual number of individuals because some of the same candidates had run for different positions across election years.

A fourth from ARMM

Interestingly, by regional spread, one in four of the delinquent candidates, or 212, came from ARMM. But defiance of election law seems to be an epidemic across all the regions of the Philippines.

Other regions with delinquent candidates include: CALABARZON, 94 candidates; Davao Region, 90; Cordillera Administrative Region, 81; Central Luzon, 60; SOCCSKSARGEN, 60; National Capital Region, 59; Western Visayas, 36; Ilocos Region, 28; Cagayan Valley, 33; Central Visayas, 25; MIMAROPA, 24; Eastern Visayas, 21; Northern Mindanao, 19; Zamboanga Peninsula, 17; Bicol Region,16; and Caraga, seven.

(The delinquents from the relatively new Negros Island Region were included in the counts from Western and Central Visayas or Negros Occidental and Oriental. These two now make up Negros Island Region, which was formed only on May 19, 2015 by virtue of Executive Order No. 183.)

The count per region and per province of 882 candidates is closer to the calculated number of individuals at 873, which was derived from subtracting the number of repeated names for candidates who had run in two or more localities.

A big majority of these delinquent candidates had run as independents, or without any political party affiliation.

From parties of presidents

An interesting picture emerges for a subgroup of 131 delinquent candidates who had run for district representative, governor, and vice governor from the 2007 to the 2013 elections, including 18 candidates running again in the May 2016 elections.

In this subgroup, 87 are independents but a significant number had run as candidates of the national political parties led by the incumbent and former presidents of the country:

* Eleven of the delinquents in this subgroup ran as candidates of the Liberal Party (LP) of President Benigno S. Aquino III;

• Eight from the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of ousted President Joseph Estrada that is part of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance;

• Six from the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI) of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo;

• Seven from the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos; and

• Five from the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) of former President Fidel Ramos.

PCIJ. Non-filers of SOCE, By Party, may 2016

The more prominent names in the list of delinquents include erstwhile rebel leader Nur Misuari who ran for governor of Sulu province in 2007 and 2010, and again for regional governor of ARMM in 2013. In all three instances, Misuari ran as an independent candidate. And in all three instances, too, he did not file his election spending report.

Yet another is Macario Asistio Jr., who ran for vice mayor in 2010, and mayor in 2013, of Caloocan City, and on both occasions failed to submit his SOCE to the Comelec.

Still a third is Ismael ‘Chuck’ Mathay III, sole son of former long-time Quezon City Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. Chuck Mathay ran and won as representative of Quezon City’s 2nd District in 2007 and 2010 and, like Asistio, failed to file his SOCE both times.

Running once more

From the roster of delinquent candidates come a few who have again filed their candidacies for various posts in the May 2016 elections. They include

• Kadra Asana Masihul, KBL, Sulu, who ran for provincial governor in 2013, now running for Board Member in the 1st District of Sulu;
• Albert Hans Corvera Palacios, Independent, 4th District Quezon City, who is running for the same position; he ran under the PMP banner in 2013;
• Pablo Camabrejan Villabar, KBL, Davao del Sur, running again for first district representative as an independent as in the 2013 elections;
• Amin Guintawan Sindao, independent, North Cotabato, running again for third district representative;
• Telesforo Magramo Gaan, independent candidate for governor of Romblon;
• Delfina Dorman Bicatulo, independent candidate for governor of Bukidnon;
• Ahmadjan Marogong Abdulcarim, independent candidate for governor of Lanao Del Sur;
• Justo III Hernandez Orros, independent candidate for vice governor of La Union; and
• Morsalim Alap-Polao Binnortominoray, Liberal Party candidate for vice governor of Lanao Del Sur, but independent candidate in 2013.

The lone candidate for senator, Greco Belgica, had challenged the inclusion of his name in the Comelec’s disqualification list when it first came out in December 2015. In a text message, he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer: “I filed and signed my SOCE in 2007 and 2013 so I cannot be charged for not filing my SOCE. Someone must be manipulating the records. The question is who?”

Belgica, Manila city councilor from 2004 to 2007, was a lead petitioner in a case that was filed before the Supreme Court in 2013 questioning the constitutionality of the pork-barrel system.

Weak parties

According to PulseAsia Research President Ronald Holmes, who is also a political science professor at De La Salle University, the presence of a big majority of “independent” candidates in the list of delinquents illustrates the weakness of the political party system in the country.

Notably, too, many of the candidates on the list have shifted from one to another political party across election years. This is consistent, Holmes says, with the culture of “turncoatism” or the relative ease by which politicians affiliate with different, but usually the dominant, political parties, during regime shifts.

“We don’t have substantive political parties in this country,” says Holmes. “They are basically absent. The large number of independents is not surprising and may simply mean that one does not have to be affiliated to run, and maybe even win, during the elections.”

When one considers the dynamics between politicians once they are in office, however, a different picture emerges.

At a recent public forum, Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza tackled political turncoatism by the candidates in regard to their quest for resources during election campaigns.

“On the local level, for example, it would be easier to engage the national government if you are allied with the current dominant party,” Mendoza said. “This can be in terms of resources, like budgets, and approvals for policies and contracts you want in your jurisdiction.”

PCIJ. Non-filers of SOCE, By Position, may 2016

No party discipline

This is not necessarily incongruous to Holmes’s assessment of the weakness of political parties during elections. Holmes even expresses little optimism when asked if political parties should or could be held responsible for policing their members who did not file their SOCEs.

“The parties themselves do not have that discipline,” he says. “Even at the national level, the dominating party is not necessarily strong or unified.”

For instance, after the May 2010 elections, “the Liberal Party was dominant but they couldn’t agree on who among them was supposed to be Senate President,” Holmes points out. “So someone not from the party took the position.”

Juan Ponce Enrile of the Nacionalista Party was elected Senate President in 2010 by a fragile coalition of political parties in the Upper Chamber.

Even the past presidents have had a history of party switching, Holmes says, adding that, “independence” is primarily a legal label than an individuality of thought or principles. Being an independent candidate, he says, simply means one was not formally nominated or affiliated with a party.

In Holmes’s book, it is highly possible that a majority of “independent” candidates on the list of delinquents may have had informal connections with the established political parties.

“They may,” he says. “This is largely determined by the dynamics on the ground and how they engage each other to achieve their goals. Take Grace Poe, for example. She’s currently independent but she may be ‘adopted’ by present political parties in the long run.”

Clans drive politics

But could, or should, delinquent candidates be allowed to run for office again?

Holmes voices concern that other than Comelec, political clans continue to drive the choice of candidates and the results of elections in many parts of the country.

“There are many powerful families and they can take control of representation mechanisms in their territories,” he observes. “The head of a political clan can determine what happens more than any external body, the Commission on Elections included.”

In areas where virulent clans with private armies rule, election officials may be hard put enforcing Comelec’s decision to disqualify delinquent candidates.

Still and all, in October 2015, when Comelec first came out with its initial list of delinquent candidates, CFO head Commissioner Lim had declared the poll body’s commitment to uphold the rule of law.

He told reporters that it was the first time Comelec had spelled out rules on the filing of petitions for disqualification of candidates who had failed to submit election spending reports to the poll body.

But because the rules provide the delinquents the opportunity to file appeals, Comelec can only collect and impose fines on such candidates until the CFO’s decision becomes final and executory.

Schedule of fines

On June 12, 2012, in Resolution No. 9476, Comelec said that for failure to file SOCEs for the first time, candidates, depending on the elective post they had run for, must pay an administrative fine ranging from P1,000 to P30,000, and for the second offense, from P2,000 to P60,000.

That could mean a tidy sum for Comelec – that is, if it does go after the delinquents to collect the fines and the candidates actually pay up.

For the 2013 elections alone, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista had told reporters that 4,677 or about one in 10 of the candidates who ran for elective positions (net of the party-list groups) had failed to file their SOCEs, as of the deadline of July 2013. Bautista’s estimate is that the poll body could raise up to P52 million in fines from these delinquents.

But until the Comelec’s decision to perpetually bar these candidates from running for public office, becomes final and executory, there is only one, final, true judge and jury on these cases: the Filipino voter. — PCIJ, April 2016
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For details, check out PCIJ’s Money Politics Online

Clash of clans? Ampatuans, Ecleos,Sinsuats, Midtimbangs unopposed

mcmangahas

By Vino Lucero

AMONG THE 802 unopposed candidates for the 2016 elections, a few stood out not just because their surnames sounded familiar, but also because of the frequency in which these kept popping up.

Four surnames – Ampatuan, Ecleo, Midtimbang, and Sinsuat – came up five or more times on the Commission on Elections’ list of unopposed candidates in their respective bailiwicks.

This means these clans already have at least five sure seats in their localities that they will occupy for the next three years.

They could have more, of course, partly because all four of these families have other members standing for various local posts, albeit with competitors.

Three of the surnames showed up on the list of unopposed candidates in Maguindanao: Midtimbang nine times; Sinsuat six; and Ampatuan five. Ecleo came up five times on Dinagat Islands’ unchallenged roster.

The Midtimbangs are running unopposed in the mayor, vice mayor, and councilor races of the towns of Datu Anggal Midtimbang and Talayan in Maguindanao. In all, nine Midtimbangs are running sans rivals under the banner of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The clan, however, also has other members running in the provincial level, as well as in the localities of Talitay and Guindulungan.

A total of 19 Midtimbangs are running for office in Maguindanao this year, which, if they are all lucky, could result in as much as 19 local seats for the family.

PCIJ. Midtimbang. May 2016

Five members of the Ampatuan clan, meanwhile, are running unopposed in the towns of Datu Hoffer Ampatuan and Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Other members of the Ampatuan clan are also gunning for seats – but with challengers — in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial council, as well as in the towns of Datu Abdullah Sangki, Datu Unsay, Mamasapano, Parang, Rajah Buayan, Shariff Aguak, and Shariff Saydona.

In fact, four Ampatuans are fighting for the mayoralty seat of Shariff Aguak, and three for the office of vice mayor. In this race, candidates of the opposition UNA are pitted against the official bets of the administration, the Liberal Party (LP) headed by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Sajid Islam Ampatuan (UNA) is in a face-off against Maroph Ampatuan of the LP, Oping Ampatuan (Independent), and Zahara Ampatuan of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in the mayoralty race.

Anhara Ampatuan (UNA) is up against Akmad Ampatuan (LP) and Datu Puti Ampatuan (Independent) over the vice-mayoralty post.

LP’s candidate for vice mayor, Akmad Ampatuan Sr., is a close relative of the late Andal Ampatuan Sr., the principal accused together with his son Zaldy in the “Maguindanao Massacre” of Nov. 23, 2009 where 58 persons, including 32 media workers, were killed.

A brother-in-law of the Ampatuans, Akmad is one of the accused in the massacre. In March 2015, however, he was admitted into the government’s Witness Protection Program.

PCIJ. Ampatuan May 2016

Akmad, Andal Sr., Andal Jr., and Zaldy were all elective officials in Maguindanao when they were arrested for the massacre in 2009. But then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima cited Akmad as “one of the major witnesses” in the second wave of complaints against 50 new suspects in the massacre, “including 14 Ampatuans, four of them incumbent mayors in Maguindanao.”

UNA’s Bai Anhara Ampatuan, meanwhile, is a re-electionist and daughter of Anwar and Zahara Ampatuan.

Unlike Akmad, UNA’s candidate for Shariff Aguak town mayor, Sajid Ampatuan, remains a principal accused in the multiple murder case that government prosecutors filed over six years ago, on account of the massacre. A former vice governor, Sajid is out on bail. His wife Zandria Sinsuat-Ampatuan is running for a third term as mayor of Shariff Saydona town.

Sajid’s rival bets are close relatives: his cousin, incumbent mayor Maroph; his nephew Oping; and sister-in-law Zahara, a former mayor and the wife of his elder brother Anwar.

In total, 40 Ampatuans are running for the 2016 elections in Maguindanao, and the family can get as much as 33 local seats there.

The Ampatuans are also relatives, either by blood or affinity, of the Sinsuat, Midtimbang, Sema, and Datumanong clans.

Generations of the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus, meanwhile, had been close political allies until Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu ran and won as Maguindanao governor against the Ampatuans’s wishes, in the May 2010 elections.

PCIJ. Sinsuat. May 2016

The royal clan of Sinsuat itself has six unopposed bets in Datu Blah T. Sinsuat and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao. All the unchallenged Sinsuats are running under the LP.

Ten other Sinsuat family members are aiming for seats in the provincial level, as well as for a variety of posts in Cotabato City, Datu Blah T. Sinsuat, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Kabuntalan, Shariff Saydona, and Upi.

In the Dinagat Islands, also in Mindanao, the Ecleos are running without rivals for governor, as well as for mayor in three towns, and vice mayor in one municipality.

PCIJ. Ecleo May 2016

A total of 13 Ecleo clan members are running this year under UNA, save for one, Romeo Ecleo, who chose to be an independent candidate for councilor in the town of Libjo (Albor). – PCIJ, May 2016

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For more details, check out PCIJ’s Money Politics Online

Clash of clans? Ampatuans, Ecleos,Sinsuats, Midtimbangs unopposed

mcmangahas

By Vino Lucero

AMONG THE 802 unopposed candidates for the 2016 elections, a few stood out not just because their surnames sounded familiar, but also because of the frequency in which these kept popping up.

Four surnames – Ampatuan, Ecleo, Midtimbang, and Sinsuat – came up five or more times on the Commission on Elections’ list of unopposed candidates in their respective bailiwicks.

This means these clans already have at least five sure seats in their localities that they will occupy for the next three years.

They could have more, of course, partly because all four of these families have other members standing for various local posts, albeit with competitors.

Three of the surnames showed up on the list of unopposed candidates in Maguindanao: Midtimbang nine times; Sinsuat six; and Ampatuan five. Ecleo came up five times on Dinagat Islands’ unchallenged roster.

The Midtimbangs are running unopposed in the mayor, vice mayor, and councilor races of the towns of Datu Anggal Midtimbang and Talayan in Maguindanao. In all, nine Midtimbangs are running sans rivals under the banner of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The clan, however, also has other members running in the provincial level, as well as in the localities of Talitay and Guindulungan.

A total of 19 Midtimbangs are running for office in Maguindanao this year, which, if they are all lucky, could result in as much as 19 local seats for the family.

PCIJ. Midtimbang. May 2016

Five members of the Ampatuan clan, meanwhile, are running unopposed in the towns of Datu Hoffer Ampatuan and Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Other members of the Ampatuan clan are also gunning for seats – but with challengers — in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial council, as well as in the towns of Datu Abdullah Sangki, Datu Unsay, Mamasapano, Parang, Rajah Buayan, Shariff Aguak, and Shariff Saydona.

In fact, four Ampatuans are fighting for the mayoralty seat of Shariff Aguak, and three for the office of vice mayor. In this race, candidates of the opposition UNA are pitted against the official bets of the administration, the Liberal Party (LP) headed by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Sajid Islam Ampatuan (UNA) is in a face-off against Maroph Ampatuan of the LP, Oping Ampatuan (Independent), and Zahara Ampatuan of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) in the mayoralty race.

Anhara Ampatuan (UNA) is up against Akmad Ampatuan (LP) and Datu Puti Ampatuan (Independent) over the vice-mayoralty post.

LP’s candidate for vice mayor, Akmad Ampatuan Sr., is a close relative of the late Andal Ampatuan Sr., the principal accused together with his son Zaldy in the “Maguindanao Massacre” of Nov. 23, 2009 where 58 persons, including 32 media workers, were killed.

A brother-in-law of the Ampatuans, Akmad is one of the accused in the massacre. In March 2015, however, he was admitted into the government’s Witness Protection Program.

PCIJ. Ampatuan May 2016

Akmad, Andal Sr., Andal Jr., and Zaldy were all elective officials in Maguindanao when they were arrested for the massacre in 2009. But then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima cited Akmad as “one of the major witnesses” in the second wave of complaints against 50 new suspects in the massacre, “including 14 Ampatuans, four of them incumbent mayors in Maguindanao.”

UNA’s Bai Anhara Ampatuan, meanwhile, is a re-electionist and daughter of Anwar and Zahara Ampatuan.

Unlike Akmad, UNA’s candidate for Shariff Aguak town mayor, Sajid Ampatuan, remains a principal accused in the multiple murder case that government prosecutors filed over six years ago, on account of the massacre. A former vice governor, Sajid is out on bail. His wife Zandria Sinsuat-Ampatuan is running for a third term as mayor of Shariff Saydona town.

Sajid’s rival bets are close relatives: his cousin, incumbent mayor Maroph; his nephew Oping; and sister-in-law Zahara, a former mayor and the wife of his elder brother Anwar.

In total, 40 Ampatuans are running for the 2016 elections in Maguindanao, and the family can get as much as 33 local seats there.

The Ampatuans are also relatives, either by blood or affinity, of the Sinsuat, Midtimbang, Sema, and Datumanong clans.

Generations of the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus, meanwhile, had been close political allies until Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu ran and won as Maguindanao governor against the Ampatuans’s wishes, in the May 2010 elections.

PCIJ. Sinsuat. May 2016

The royal clan of Sinsuat itself has six unopposed bets in Datu Blah T. Sinsuat and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao. All the unchallenged Sinsuats are running under the LP.

Ten other Sinsuat family members are aiming for seats in the provincial level, as well as for a variety of posts in Cotabato City, Datu Blah T. Sinsuat, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Kabuntalan, Shariff Saydona, and Upi.

In the Dinagat Islands, also in Mindanao, the Ecleos are running without rivals for governor, as well as for mayor in three towns, and vice mayor in one municipality.

PCIJ. Ecleo May 2016

A total of 13 Ecleo clan members are running this year under UNA, save for one, Romeo Ecleo, who chose to be an independent candidate for councilor in the town of Libjo (Albor). – PCIJ, May 2016

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For more details, check out PCIJ’s Money Politics Online