EDITORIAL - A tool for good governance

Beating the deadline the other day, four of the five candidates who ran for president and all the bets for vice president submitted their statements of campaign contributions and expenditures or SOCE to the Commission on Elections. Now comes the hard part, which is verifying the accuracy of the statements.

There must be a serious verification effort, at least for all those who sought the nation’s two highest posts. With tens of thousands of candidates, the Comelec will be swamped if it tries to verify all SOCEs.

But random verification can also be conducted in the congressional and local government races, particularly among the winners, who cannot assume their posts unless they submit the statements.

The Comelec, which must attend to many other matters including election protests and preparations for the barangay elections later this year, can explore assistance from certain groups in the verification process. Citizens can do their part by providing pertinent information or submitting documents to determine the accuracy of the statements. Rival candidates can dispute the statements by submitting evidence of supposed inaccuracies.

Unless the nation sees clearly that such statements may be verified, submission of the SOCE – a crucial element in regulating campaign finance – will be an exercise in futility. This guarantees that rules governing campaign finance, weak as they are, will continue to be flouted.

The nation’s failure to bring transparency to campaign financing is a major cause of corruption and the brazen influence peddling that has prevented the development of a merit-based society.

The public deserves to know the individuals, groups or special interests that bankroll election campaigns, whether in national or local races, and how much the contributions are. This makes it easier to track the distribution of the spoils of victory and keep an eye on possible anomalous deals and unworthy appointments in government service. Putting a cap on campaign spending also aims to give candidates who are qualified but lack the financial resources and party machinery a fighting chance.

The requirement to submit the SOCE is not a frivolous one, but a useful tool for promoting good governance. Every effort must be made to compel honesty and accuracy in the statements.