By: Emme Rose Santiagudo
THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Iloilo province again reminded all political candidates in the May 13, 2019 elections to submit their statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) today, June 13, 2019.
Teodora Sumagaysay, head of the DILG in the province of Iloilo, supported the call of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Western Visayas urging political bets to submit their financial reports.
Sumagaysay said bets who fail to file the SOCE on time could face legal actions.
“We are reminding all candidates nga nagfile sang ila candidacy in the recent election to file their SOCE kay there will be legal actions na ipasaka sa ila if they could not file their SOCE,” she stressed.
Atty. Jose Nick Mendros, Comelec 6 regional director emphasized that the filing of the SOCE today is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the office of the election officer where they filed their respective certificates of candidacy (COC),
“All candidates are required to submit their SOCE within 30 days after elections. They are required to declare all the expenses they have incurred in connection to their campaign and their candidacy in the recent elections,” he stressed.
Sumagaysay recalled that in previous elections, DILG served a Comelec order to a defeated mayoralty candidate in the town of San Rafael, Iloilo.
“In previous elections, naka-serve kita sang Comelec decision I could not remember but isa ka kandidata nga nagpadalagan mayor sang San Rafael. She was penalized and nagbayad siya,” he said.
She added that there is a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Comelec and the DILG on the matter.
“What we are going to do is we will submit a list of those who weren’t able to file their SOCE sa central office then we will wait for the guidance of the central office of what will happen to these candidates that were not able to file their SOCE,” Sumagaysay said.
Mendros in previous interviews emphasized that winning candidates who fail to submit their SOCEs on time would be prohibited from assuming their office.
They will also be stripped of their powers to disburse and spend public funds.
On the other hand, losing bets who fail to submit their SOCE within the deadline will be subjected to administrative fines of not less than P5,000.
