Janet a poll campaign contributor? Comelec checking

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking into the financial statements of candidates in the May 13 polls to determine if businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles was a campaign contributor.

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle said they are reviewing the voluminous Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) filed by the candidates to see if Napoles had contributed to the campaign war chest of any politician.

While the Comelec has not been directed to do so, Tagle said they wanted to prepare in case the investigation over the pork barrel scam would include the poll body.

“We want to see if Napoles was a campaign contributor. We are also looking if any of the bogus NGOs linked to her have contributed to the campaign of any candidate,” he said.

The Comelec initially is screening the SOCE for last May’s elections and it intends to expand it to the 2007 elections.

So far, Tagle said they have not seen Napoles’ name in the list of contributors for the 2013 polls.

“The records are so thick so this will really take time. We are also looking into the SOCE of the political parties,” he added.

The move came after showbiz talent manager Lolit Solis, a self-confessed friend of Napoles, had reportedly disclosed the businesswoman had admitted contributing to three leading presidential bets in the 2010 elections.

But a check on these candidates’ SOCE in 2010 failed to show any contributor by the name of Napoles.

Tagle, however, said that even if Napoles is now embroiled in the pork barrel anomaly, her being a donor – if ever – does not violate any provision in the Constitution or election laws.

He added there is also no provision that sets a limit on how much a person can contribute to a candidate’s campaign kitty.