Only 1 bet fails to submit SOCE
2019 ELECTIONS
ONLY one of
the 44 candidates for the provincial and congressional posts in the May polls
failed to submit his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) at the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Pangasinan office in Dagupan City.
Lawyer Eric Oganiza, the acting provincial election supervisor, said the
candidate whom he did not identify, ran for representative of the Fourth
District “but was not seen around campaigning”.
“He could have withdrawn his
candidacy earlier if he was not really serious in his congressional bid so that
we would not have one aspirant who did not submit his SOCE despite our
notices,” he said.
Oganiza said the reports of the
municipal and city election offices have not reached his office at press time
following the deadline of submission of SOCE on June 13.
All the SOCEs submitted to their office will be forwarded to their central
office that shall review them. The submitted SOCEs will be reviewed by the
Comelec’s Campaign Finance Office to determine if they exceeded the campaign
expense limit.
A candidate who has not submitted his SOCE twice in two elections where he or
she ran may be disqualified already to run in succeeding elections even if he
or she has paid the penalties, he added.
He cited the case of then Laguna governor ER Ejercito who was convicted for
campaign overspending.
Oganiza added that one candidate in Pangasinan was also similarly charged
criminally for overspending. He said it was he who caused the submission of the
filing of the case at the regional trial court in Urdaneta City but the accused
was already dead while the case is still pending.
“If something is lacking in the submitted SOCE, they will simply be notified
through a letter to comply,” Oganiza said.
Winning candidates can still comply within six months after the elections but
the Department of Interior and Local Government will not allow them to assume
their post unless they have submitted their certificate of compliance from the
Comelec. (PhilStar Wire Service)
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