THE Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced that it will issue a show cause order (SCO) to Senator Rodante Marcoleta over discrepancies between his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) for the May 12, 2025 midterm elections.
COMELEC Chair George Garcia said the SCO will be sent to the senator in the coming days to give him the opportunity to explain the matter.
“Social media has been saying the Comelec isn’t taking action. We want to reassure everyone that we examine all documents thoroughly. For transparency and accountability, we will issue the SCO in the next few days,” Garcia said.
Garcia also stressed that there are no exemptions when it comes to declaring donations or campaign contributions. He emphasized that all contributions received by a candidate must be declared in full.
“As far as Comelec is concerned, there are no exemptions. All donations received during the campaign period must be declared. What is the purpose of publication, submission, and sworn statements if candidates will withhold information?” he said.
Garcia clarified that the Comelec will first evaluate Marcoleta’s explanation for failing to declare the donors who contributed to his campaign. The commission will assess all available evidence and compare it with the documents submitted before deciding whether to file a case or dismiss the issue for lack of basis.
Based on Marcoleta’s SOCE, he declared no cash or in-kind contributions, yet reported P112,857,951.44 in campaign expenditures. This raised questions since his SALN lists a net worth of only P51.9 million.
Marcoleta later admitted that friends donated funds to his 2025 campaign but said he deliberately did not declare these contributions at the request of donors who wanted to remain anonymous.
Garcia warned that any candidate found to have submitted false information in their SOCE may face penalties, including one to six years imprisonment, charges of perjury, or falsification of public documents.
