MANILA – With just two days left before the deadline, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said only 976 out of the more than 41,000 national and local candidates in the May 12 midterm elections have filed their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).
Based on Comelec data as of Monday, eight senatorial candidates, 16 party-list organizations and four political groups have submitted their SOCEs.
There were 64 senatorial candidates, 154 party-list groups and 28 political parties that participated in the elections.
At the local level, only 948 out of the 41,217 candidates have so far filed their SOCEs -- four for provincial governor, three for vice governor, 39 for Sangguniang Panlalawigan member, seven for House of Representatives, two for city mayor, 78 for municipal mayor, 10 for city vice mayor, 89 for municipal vice mayor, 68 for Sangguniang Panlungsod member, and 648 for Sangguniang Bayan member.
The law provides that SOCEs must be filed within 30 days from the date of elections. For this year, the deadline is on June 11.
For national candidates and political parties, SOCEs should be filed at the Bureau of the Treasury Training Hall in Intramuros, Manila.
SOCEs of local candidates, on the other hand, have to be filed at the local Comelec office where the candidate filed the certificate of candidacy.
The SOCE shall be filed in such prescribed number of hard copies accompanied by a soft/electronic copy.
In an interview, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia reiterated that they will no longer accept SOCEs after the deadline.
"Any SOCE filed beyond the deadline shall not be accepted," he said.
A candidate who failed to submit the SOCE would not be allowed to assume the post and may also face an administrative case.
On the other hand, a candidate who complies will be issued a Certificate of Formal Compliance, which must be submitted upon assumption of office. (PNA)