COMELEC TO CANDIDATES
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is reminding all candidates in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to submit their individual Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) not later than June 13.
Failure to comply with the order entails penalties for both winning and losing candidates, said Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano.
First-time offenders and those who fail to submit the SOCE on time, he said, face an administrative fine ranging from P1,000 to P30,000 depending on the position they ran for.
Second-time offenders and subsequent offenders face perpetual disqualification from public office.
In a list published on its website, the Comelec identified about a hundred candidates who have been perpetually disqualified from holding public office due to their repeated failure to file their SOCE since 2016.
SOCE helps the Comelec determine whether a candidate has overspent during the campaign period.
“Now we already have a particular group that looks into all the SOCE. In fact, they audit every SOCE and its attachments to find out if a candidate spent within or beyond the limit provided for by law,” Castillano said.
Candidates, he said, are only allowed to spend P5 for each voter in the barangay that they are running in.
The SOCE contains the itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures of a candidate.