BACOLOD City – City Election officer Ann Janette Lamban said administrative penalties awaits four candidates who ran in the recent May midterm elections after failing to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs) on the June 13 deadline.
Lamban withheld their names, noting they were all losing bets for councilors.
She said there were 31 out of 35 candidates have successfully filed their SOCEs at the poll body’s office in this capital city.
“All of the winning candidates have filed their SOCEs,” Lamban claimed.
The election officer also noted losing mayoralty candidate Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue was the last one to file her SOCE, while incumbent Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran was the first, who filed on June 5.
Under Republic Act 7166 (Synchronized Elections Law), all candidates and electoral parties – win or lose – are required to file their SOCEs within 30 days after the conduct of elections.
SOCE filing is also required of candidates who were self-funded, did not incur any expenses, did not pursue or continue the campaign, and withdrew their candidacies unless the withdrawal was done before the start of the campaign period, according to the Commission on Elections.
“Failure to submit SOCE may result to the imposition of administrative sanctions against candidates and electoral parties,” it added.
Candidates who submitted incomplete statements and reports will also face administrative sanctions.
“An incomplete report is a report that does not contain all the required information, or does not conform to the prescribed form,” stated Comelec Resolution No. 10505./PN
