Extension for filing of SOCEs unlikely — Comelec

The possibility of extending the deadline for the filing of Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) is unlikely, Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials have said.

The deadline for the filing of SOCEs was set on June 13, Wednesday. Any elected public official who fails to comply risks being perpetually disqualified to hold office.

Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7166 states that all candidates should file their SOCEs within thirty days after the election.

It says that “No person elected to any public offices shall enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures herein required.”

Should the candidate refuse to comply and commits a second offense, the law states that he or she would be subjected to perpetual disqualification from ever holding public office.

In an interview, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said “there has been no talks about extending the deadline” for winning, defeated and disqualified candidates in the 2018 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

On the other hand, Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon said that it was unlikely that any bid to extend the deadline would prosper.

“I doubt it,” Guanzon said in a separate interview.

To accommodate late SOCE filers, the Comelec announced that all of its field offices would open on June 12, Independence Day, despite it being declared a regular holiday. /je