The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and its former official confirmed that no law prohibits candidates from keeping their unspent campaign donations.
According to former Comelec commissioner Atty. Luie Guia, candidates, do not violate any law when they decide to keep the campaign funds left and declare it as part of their income. They should also pay their taxes.
“Titingnan mo ‘yong ating existing laws on campaign finance, wala talagang sinasabi kung ano ang pwuedeng gawin ng isang nakatanggap ng donation na hindi niya nagastos sa kaniyang kampaniya,” Guia said.
(When you look at existing laws, there’s nothing there that says anything about unspent campaign donations.)
“Puwede mong maintindihan ang circumstances, ano nga ba ang dapat niyang ginawa? Well, under the existing law, nagbayad naman ng buwis so that’s the best he can do under the existing policy. Ang maganda pa doon, palagay ko ay nadeklara. May ganitong halaga na napunta sa kaniyang puder na dapat pangampanya,” he added.
(You understand the circumstances, what should the candidate have done? Well, under the existing law, the candidate would pay taxes on the unspent contributions. That’s the best he can do under the current policy. What’s good about it is the money has to be declared. Instead of spending it on the campaign, this much went into his pocket.)
Comelec confirms no rule against keeping unspent campaign donations
Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez agreed that there was no rule on handling excess campaign funds.
“Meaning to say, there are no rules that say you have to return or restore to the donor or that you’re supposed to use it for some charitable purpose, walang ganyan,” he said.
Jimenez cited the BIR rule that unspent campaign moneyshould be treated as income and should be subject to the right tax payment.
“So it follows that there really is nothing wrong with hanging on to unspent campaign funds as long as you pay taxes,” the Comelec spokesperson explained.
Guia then called on Congress to pass a law on the disposition of excess campaign funds.
“Parang may mali na ‘pag may sobra ka, puwede mo ibili ng bahay o sasakyan pero wala namang sinasabi ang batas at mahirap naman ibalik,” he said.
(There’s something about it that doesn’t seem right. You can use the money to buy a house or a car. The law doesn’t say anything, and it would be not easy to return the donation to the supporter.)
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