ZAMBOANGA CITY–At least 70 percent or over 2,000 of the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) candidates have complied with the deadline for the submission of the Statement of Contributions and Expenditure (SOCE).
This was disclosed by Lawyer Stephen Roy Cañete, first district election officer, as the deadline for the submission of SOCE ended on Wednesday, June 13.
Cañete said there were 3,676 candidates in this city in the recently-held Barangay and SK elections.
Of the total, 257 ran for barangay chairperson; 2,144 for barangay councilors; 254 for SK chairperson; and, 1,021 for SK councilors.
“All candidates, whether they win or lose, are required to file SOCE,” Cañete on Thursday told the Philippine News Agency.
The SOCE will show the expenses of the candidates and whether they have complied with the required allowable expenditure during the election.
Cañete said each of the candidate in the May 14 Barangay and SK elections are only allowed to spend PHP5 per voter.
He said a fine ranging from PHP1,000 to PHP10,000 will be slapped on candidates who failed to submit SOCE for the first time, and perpetual disqualification to hold public office for the second offense.
“These are being recorded in Comelec Manila (and) if they failed to file their SOCE twice, they cannot file their Certificate of Candidacy (COC) (in future elections),” he added. (R. G. Antonet Go/PNA)
