CANDIDATES who won or lost in the May 13 polls are told to submit their Statement of Contribution and Expenditures (Soce), according to Benguet provincial elections supervisor lawyer Nicasio Jacob who reiterated the resolution and memorandum of the Commission en banc.
“Whether running candidates lost or won, all must submit their statement of contribution and expenditures within 30 days from May 13, 2019 that is June 12,” said Jacob.
Jacob added before winning candidates can take their oath, they must submit Soce and follow the format prescribe by the commission.
“If ever June 12 is holiday, our office is still open to receive your Soce,” he added. “Ayaw kong marinig sa inyo na na-disqualify ako hindi ako nakaupo dahil hindi ko finile ang aking Soce.”
The Soce is required in every candidate. It includes the cash and in-kind contributions received by the candidate from political party and other sources and SOCE also include expenditures paid out of personal funds, out of cash contributions and incurred using in-kind contributions.
The Comelec official also reminded the Department of the Interior and Local Government not to schedule oath taking of candidates without certification coming from the Comelec.
Jacob said elections in Benguet province and Baguio City remains generally peaceful while common problems reported from the field composed of defective vote counting machines and SD cards. There are eight in Baguio City and 20 in Benguet.
Benguet has the most number of registered voters in the Cordillera Administrative Region with 227,033 voters followed by Abra and Baguio City.