Around 70 candidates in Palawan who ran in the May 12 elections may be fined or asked to explain by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for failing to submit their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) by the June 11 deadline.
Two candidates for board members in the 2nd District and one for vice governor in the province did not submit their SOCE, according to Ordas.
He said that 33 of the 36 candidates at the provincial level, including the congressional bets, were able to submit theirs.
“Sa Provincial COMELEC, ang lahat ng nanalo ay nakapag-file naman dahil alam naman nila na hindi sila makakaupo kapag hindi sila nakapag-file ng SOCE,” said Jomel Ordas, spokesperson of COMELEC Palawan.
“Dito sa atin sa province, ang hindi nakapag-file ay isang kandidato sa pagka-vice governor at dalawang kandidato sa pagka-board member sa 2nd District. 33 out of 36 candidates sa provincial level ang nakapag-file naman kasama na ‘yung mga congressman natin,” he added.
Ordas said that out of the 700 who filed certificates of candidacy (COC), two passed away and only one had a substitute candidate, which brought the final number of official candidates in the province to 698.
Of that number, only 628 submitted their SOCEs to the COMELEC Palawan office.
“Mula sa 698, ang nakapag-submit ng SOCE ay 628—nasa 90% ‘yan kaya 70 ang hindi nakapag-file kasama na ‘yung sa dalawang pumanaw na kandidato. Ang rules natin ay June 11 lang talaga ang deadline at after June 11 ay hindi na authorize mag-receive ng SOCE ‘yung offices ng COMELEC. Kaya mula June 12, bawal na mag-receive at wala nang ire-receive na SOCE,” he explained.
Because of this, those who failed to submit by the deadline will be fined and asked to explain their failure to comply with the requirement.
Ordas said this is stipulated in COMELEC Resolution 11109.
Pursuant to Sections 1 to 3, Rule 6 of the resolution, candidates must submit a complete, accurate, and itemized SOCE for the 2025 elections
Failure to file the SOCE within the prescribed deadline constitutes an administrative offense. The candidate is subject to an administrative fine.
For second or subsequent offenses, the penalty escalates: the candidate faces a higher administrative fine and is subjected to perpetual disqualification from holding or running for any public elective position
“Ang mangyayari doon sa mga hindi nakapag-file ay masa-subject sila sa administrative fine pero susulatan muna sila ng COMELEC para mag-explain kung bakit hindi sila nakapag-file,” Ordas said.
COMELEC Palawan is now waiting for the official findings from its Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) to determine if any candidates exceeded the spending limits allowed by law during the campaign period.
