By Ferdinand Patinio/PNA
MANILA — Winning candidates in the May 13 elections, who will fail to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), may be permanently barred from assuming office, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Wednesday.
According to Comelec Resolution 10505, which amended several provisions of the Omnibus Rules on Campaign Finance, the failure of the candidate to submit SOCEs within six months from proclamation will stop him/her from assuming the duties of the post he/she had won.
“The office of an elected candidate, who failed to file SOCE, shall be considered vacant pursuant to Section 11 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) until he has complied and submitted his SOCE within six months from proclamation,” it said.
“After the lapse of the said period and the candidate failed to assume office, a permanent vacancy occurs for which said office shall be filled up in accordance with the law,” it added.
Section 11 of the OEC states that “the office of any official elected who fails or refuses to take his oath of office within six months from his proclamation shall be considered vacant”.
The deadline for all candidates and parties in the forthcoming elections to submit their SOCEs is on June 12, a month after Election Day.
For late filing, the Comelec also imposed lower administrative fines with the amount depending on the posts.
National political parties, party-list organizations, and senators will be charged PHP10,000, instead of the previous amount of PHP30,000.
For provincial political parties, they would have to pay PHP8,500, down from PHP22,500, while for provincial governors and vice governors, the amount is now at PHP8,000, down from PHP25,000.
A total of PHP7,000 from PHP20,000 will be paid by provincial board members, congressmen, local political parties, mayors, and vice mayors while councilors will need to pay PHP6,000 from PHP15,000.
On the other hand, the resolution said that for losing candidates and party-list groups, the deadline shall be “final and non-extendible”. It said that SOCEs submitted beyond the deadline shall no longer be accepted.
Under the law, every candidate and political party is required to submit their SOCEs within 30 days after elections.
