President-elect Rodrigo Duterte Spent Close to P400 Million in the May 9 Polls

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte spent close to P400 million in the May 9, 2016 elections.

Based on his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday, the incoming Chief Executive’s total expenditures amounted to P371,461,480.23.

Duterte received a total of P375,009,474.90 in contributions — P298,303,792.00 in cash and P76,705,682.90 in-kind donations.

He, however, spent P200,000 from his personal funds.

Among Duterte’s biggest contributors were Antonio R. Floirendo Jr., P75 million; Dennis A. Uy, P30 million; Samuel C. Uy, P30 million; Lorenzo A. Te, P30 million, all from Davao City; and Bienvenido F. Tan of Makati City, P20 million.

His tandem, losing vice presidential bet Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, contributed more than P70 million in-kind, representing tandem advertisements.

On the other hand, Vice President-elect Leni Robredo declared a total of P423,163,737.34 and P418,664,130.60, in contributions and expenditures, respectively.

Her total cash contributions amounted to P406,106,250.19; donations in kind from other sources amounted to P192,338.83, and in-kind contributions from her political party totalling P16,865,148.32.

Meanwhile, outgoing Vice President Jejomar Binay’s SOCE showed that he received a total of P463,453,000 cash contributions and incurred P463,375,216.37 worth of expenditures.

Binay’s partner in the last elections, Senator Gregorio Honasan, got a total of P25,790,000.00 in cash and P173,450.00 in kind contributions, respectively.

The lawmaker’s total expenditures amounted to P26,259,889.20 with a total of P296,449.20 from his personal funds.

Outgoing Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago was the first presidential aspirant to file her SOCE, wherein she declared having received and spent an equal amount of P74,652,689.87, all donated in kind from her party, People’s Reform Party (PRP).

Santiago’s tandem in the May 9 polls, also outgoing Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., spent a total of P140,539,366.34.

Based on his SOCE, Marcos received a total of P123,640,000.00 in cash contributions and P7,067,735.00 in- kind donations. He also paid out a total of P9,831,760.42 in personal funds.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, the first to file his SOCE among the vice presidential candidates, declared to have received P61,159,497.87, with P61,000,000.00 and P159,497.87, in cash and in kind contributions.

His total expenditures amounted to P61,896,067.36, including P736,569.49 from personal funds.

According to the SOCE of Duterte’s running mate, Cayetano said he received contributions amounting to P188,930,000.00 and having expenditures of P189,129,872.48.

Losing presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe said she received a total of P511,950,000.00 in cash contributions and her total expenditures amounted to P510,845,262.56.

Poe’s partner in the May 2016 polls, Senator Francis Escudero got P322,100,000.00 in cash and P467,073.60 in-kind donations totaling to P322,567,073.60. He had a total expenditure of P321,014,827.64.

The SOCE of losing presidential candidate Mar Roxas was not available as of posting time..

Meanwhile, the top five spenders in the senatorial race were Francis Tolentino, with a total spending of P199,146,623.72; followed by elected Senators Joel Villanueva, P163,787,074.02; Sherwin Gatchalian, P157,077,338.62; Ralph Recto, P131,867,403.89; and Isko Domagoso, P120,197,670.90.

Under the law, all candidates and political parties must file their full, true, and itemized SOCE within 30 days after Election Day. The deadline was set for June 8.

Winning candidates that failed to submit their SOCEs will prevent them from assuming the public posts they have been elected to.

The Comelec said it will still evaluate the SOCEs submitted by the candidates on whether their contents are truthful and if anyone has overspent.

Candidates for president and vice president are allowed to spend P10 for every registered voter in the country and overseas; while candidates for other positions can spend P3 for every voter currently registered in the constituency where they are running.

Independent candidates, meanwhile, can spend P5 for every voter currently registered in the area where they are running; while political parties and party-list groups are also allowed to spend P5 for every voter. (PNA) SCS/FGP/EDS