Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco (Screengrab from PTV's Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing)
MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday urged all candidates in the recently concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to state only true information on campaign expenses in their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs).
"Let us be honest, truthful, and have integrity in holding the position, which begins with the filing of your SOCEs. Otherwise, they may face perjury charges because all their documents are submitted under oath," Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.
Under Republic Act 7166, all candidates must file their full, true, and itemized SOCEs within 30 days after the day of the election.
He noted that candidates should also make sure that they did not overspend during the campaign period.
Laudiangco said campaign overspending is tantamount to committing an election offense.
Under the law, candidates in the village and youth polls are only allowed to spend PHP5 per registered voter.
"If only you followed the lawful campaign materials, like posters, streamers, banners, and doing house-to-house campaigning, we believe the PHP5 per registered voter spending limit is adequate," he said.
"Once we get reports that there is overspending, we will conduct an investigation and, if necessary, file election offense cases for overspending."
The last day for filing SOCEs for winning and losing BSKE bets is on Nov. 29. (PNA)
