THE Interior Department on Sunday reminded all newly elected officials they must submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures to the Commission on Elections before they are allowed to assume office.
In a memorandum, outgoing Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento urged the elected officials to file their SOCE by June 9 and submit to his department a certification on their SOCE compliance by June 17.
He cited Republic Act 7166 that says “No person elected to any public office shall enter or assume the duties of his office until he has filed the SOCE.”
The law says “Every candidate and treasurer of the political party shall, within thirty days after the day of the election, file in duplicate with the offices of the Comelec the full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election.”
Sarmiento said a winning candidate was required to present a certification from the Comelec that he or she had satisfactorily complied with Republic Act 7166.
“In the absence of this certification, the winning candidate cannot enter into the execution of his or her office pursuant to Paragraph 2 of the same provision of the law,” he said.
Winning provincial officials are obliged to submit their Comelec certifications to the DILG’s provincial directors while the winning city and municipal officials are required to submit their SOCEs to their respective DILG city or municipal directors.