SOCE FILING. A candidate for councilor of Dumaguete City files his Statement of Contribution and Expenses (SOCEs) with the Commission on Elections. The poll body said nine candidates in Negros Oriental and four in Dumaguete City failed to meet the deadline for filing on June 8. (Photo courtesy of Comelec-Negros Oriental)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Nine candidates who sought various elective positions in the May 9 polls in Negros Oriental and four from here have failed to file their Statements of Contribution and Expenses (SOCEs) on June 8, the deadline set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Comelec records showed that at the provincial level, those who failed to submit their SOCEs were Aldo Muñoz for vice governor; Acer Estrella and Karen Estrella, for House of Representatives, 3rd district; Eric Jabel and Jorame Andalajao, 1st district board member; and Franklin Culanag, Renz Macion, Bonbon Legaspi, and Tynee Teves, for 2nd district board member.
In Dumaguete, those who have not filed their SOCEs were Rene Ledesma, for mayor; Manuel Arbon, Cecilio Tayko, and Ramon Larena, for councilors.
All these candidates lost in the recent elections, the Comelec said.
Ledesma is a broadcast journalist, while Arbon is a lawyer and former city legal officer. Macion is currently the Sangguniang Kabataan chair and sits as an ex-officio member of the Dumaguete City Council.
“They can still submit their SOCEs at the Comelec offices in the areas where they sought election. However, they are required to pay administrative fines for their first offense,” lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-Negros Oriental provincial election supervisor-designate, said on Monday.
A second offense would mean perpetual disqualification from running for any elective position and penalties, he said.
Castillano said winning candidates can still file their SOCE within six months from the deadline and also incur penalties.
However, they cannot be proclaimed on June 30 as a certification from the Comelec for the filing of SOCE is required.
None of the winning candidates in Negros Oriental or Dumaguete, however, were reported to have not complied with the SOCE filing, he said.
The Comelec legal office will issue a notice of failure to file SOCE with an administrative fine to the candidates, he added. (PNA)
