MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said many candidates in last month’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections waited for the deadline on Wednesday before submitting their respective Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs).
“Comelec field offices are reporting large numbers of candidates filing their submissions to beat today’s deadline. No extensions of the filing period are expected,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement.
“As of this update, the last day for the filing of Statements of Contribution and Expenditures, by candidates in the last #BSKE2018, has proceeded uneventfully,” he added.
Jimenez warned that failure to file the SOCE would mean sanctions, including the withholding of the Certificate of Compliance, without which winning candidates would not be able to assume office.
“Candidates who fail to file their SOCEs will not be issued Certificates of Compliance by the Comelec. These Certificates of Compliance are required to be submitted to the proper authorities upon the winning candidates’ assumption to office,” he explained.
Jimenez noted that the SOCEs would help them determine if the candidate followed the allowable campaign spending limit of PHP5 per barangay voter under the law.
“Overspending candidates will face disqualification charges at the appropriate time,” he said.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, every candidate and treasurer of a political party shall present full, true, and itemized SOCEs after an electoral exercise.
The candidates were given 30 days after the polls to file the document at the local Comelec office. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
