One hundred thirty one losers in the recent Sangguniang Kabataan and barangay elections stand to face disciplinary action after their failure to file the required Statement of Contribution and Expenditures (SOCE).
The deadline for filing of the SOCE was June 13 but they failed to beat the deadline.
City Election Registrar Gildu Agoncillo said that in the past, the Comelec had fined one or two candidates in Dumaguete for failure to file their SOCE.
“The penalty for the first offense is a meager amount but for the second and third offense, this could mean perpetual disqualification from holding public office aside from the fines”, Agoncillo said.
He, however, said that all the winners in the recent elections have complied with the requirements.
But there’s still hope. “Those who failed to submit on or before the deadline may still submit their SOCE at the City Comelec office” but the matter will be referred to the campaign finance office of the Comelec in Manila, Agoncillo said.
Meanwhile, the city Comelec has announced the resumption of registration for new voters, on July 2, 2018, to include reactivation, change of address, change of status and transfer from one barangay to another.
This is in preparation for the 2019 elections.
The registration will be up to Sept. 29 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, to give way to students and to those who are working in government, Agoncillo said. (Choy Gallarde/PNA)
