DUMAGUETE CITY – One hundred thirty one out of the total 976 candidates in the Sangguniang Kabataan and barangay elections last May 14 in Dumaguete City failed to beat the deadline set by law on the filing of Statement of Contribution and Expenditures (SOCE).
Records at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Dumaguete City, the provincial capital of Negros Oriental, showed that one week after the deadline for submission of SOCE which was June 13, 2018, a total of 82 candidates for barangay kagawad were not able to file their SOCE.
Others who also failed to do the same were five candidates for punong barangays, eight candidates for Sangguniang Kabataan chairman and 36 candidates for SK councilor.
City election officer lawyer Gildu Agoncillo, however, said, that all the winners have complied with the requirements while most of those who failed to file their SOCE are losers of the recent political exercise and only three barangays have their SOCEs submitted on time.
These are the barangays Poblacion 3, Poblacion 5, and Poblacion 6, he said.
“Those who failed to submit on or before the deadline may still submit their SOCE at the office but the date will still be reflected as having filed very late already and their outcome will depend on the campaign finance office of Comelec Manila,” Agoncillo said.
For failure to file their SOCE, concerned individuals are advised to file them personally with the Comelec-Manila with an attached explanation to lawyer Efraim Q. Bag-id, acting finance director, campaign finance office at the Comelec in Intramuros, Manila.
Agoncillo confirmed that in the past, Comelec had fined one or two candidates in Dumaguete who failed to file their SOCE. The penalty for the first offense is a meager amount but for the second and third offense, this would mean perpetual disqualification from holding public office aside from the fines.
Meanwhile, the city Comelec has announced the resumption of registration for new voters, on July 2, 2018, to include reactivation, change of address, change of status and transfer from one barangay to another.
This is in preparation for the 2019 elections.
The registration will be up to September 29, 2018, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, to give way to students and to those who are working in government, Agoncillo said. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
