Barangay and SK candidates have until Nov. 29 to file their SOCE – Comelec

By: Doris C. Bongcac - CDN Digital | November 05,2023 - 09:01 AM

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MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Winning and losing candidates in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) have until November 29 to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) to the Comelec office where they filed their certificates of candidacy.

“No elected candidate shall assume office unless he or she complied with the submission of SOCE and within the period allowed by law,” says an advisory from the agency’s Political Finance and Affairs Department that was shared on the official social media page of the Comelec office in Mandaue City.

The advisory said that the deadline for the submission of the SOCE was “final and non-extendible.”

“Any SOCE filed beyond the deadline shall not be accepted.”

READ: LIST: Barangay, SK election winners in Mandaue City

Who will file SOCE?

It said that all candidates are required to submit their SOCE even if:

•They were not elected;

•Their campaign was self-funded;

•They neither received contributions nor incur expenditures;

•They did not pursue or continue their campaign; or

•They withdrew their candidacy, unless they officially withdrawn the same before October 19,2023.

When filing, “the SOCE must be personally signed by the candidate, subscribed and sworn to any person authorized to administer oath.”

Candidates are also required to send a soft/electronic copy (i.e. PDF and excel file format) and two (2) hard/printed copies of SOCE using the prescribed forms to the Comelec.

“The soft/electronic copy of the SOCE must be store or save in an external storage device,” it said.

Comelec said that submissions made through “registered mail, electronic mail, courier, or messenger services shall not be allowed and accepted.”

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