Poe ‘biggest poll spender at P510M’…

Senator Grace Poe. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II

MANILA — Sen. Grace Poe was the biggest spender in the May 9 election, incurring a total of P510.84 million in campaign expenses for her presidential bid, where she placed third with 9.1 million votes.

Based on her campaign expense report submitted beyond the 5 p.m. deadline on Wednesday, Poe received P511.95 million in cash from various sources. None was indicated for in-kind contributions. Her report also showed that she did not use personal resources for her campaign.

Only Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas did not file his campaign expense report among the candidates who vied for the the highest position in the country. The Comelec-Campaign Finance Office extended the 5 p.m. deadline to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Under Comelec Resolution No. 9991, failure to submit the SOCE for the first time carries a petty penalty of paying an administrative fine ranging from P10,000 to P30,000 depending on the position; second-time offenders will have to pay P20,000 to P60,000 and could be perpetually barred from seeking public office.  SFM