ILOILO CITY — All candidates in the May 14 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, successful or not, should submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), said the assistant regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Western Visayas announced on Wednesday.
Lawyer Tomas Valera said candidates are only given 30 days after election day to prepare and submit their SOCE.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez on Tuesday said that even disqualified candidates should file their SOCE if they still want to again run for public office.
Comelec Resolution 10209 mandates candidates to submit their SOCE to “promote fairness to all candidates and guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service.”
It added that it will also “deter excessive election spending and minimize the adverse impact of money in the electoral exercise.”
In a previous interview with Dennis Ausan, Regional Director of Comelec-6, he said that all candidates are only allowed to spend PHP5 for each registered voter in their area.
He said that winning candidates who will fail to submit their SOCE will not be allowed to assume their position.
Based on the data of Comelec here, a total of 114,385 aspirants in the region filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the local polls.
Of the number, 73,222 candidates for village posts and 41,163 candidates are running for the youth elections
For the barangay positions, Iloilo has the highest number of candidates with 32,567; followed by Negros Occidental with 14,672 candidates; Antique, 10,177; Capiz, 8,127; Aklan, 5,861; and Guimaras with 1,818 candidates.
Meanwhile, for SK elections, Iloilo remains on top with 16, 383 candidates and again followed by Negros Occidental with 8,876 total candidates; Capiz, 5,948; Antique, 4,756; Aklan, 4,048; and Guimaras with 1,152 candidates
Candidates have until June 13 to submit their SOCE. (PNA)
