MANILA – Winning candidates in the
Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections
(BSKE) need not only
have the highest number
of votes but have to meet
several requirements to be
able to assume office, the
Commission on Elections
(Comelec) said on Monday.
“For all winners,
there are three requirements before being seated. First proclamation
to be carried out by the
Comelec, then Oath of Office and third, assumption
to office. After that, one
can assume his/her position,” Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco
said in a press briefing.
Meanwhile, Laudiangco reiterated that
the proclamation of winning candidates who have
pending disqualification
cases will be deferred.
“If they get the
most votes, the proclamation will be suspended
until the Comelec issues
an order. This is to ensure
that their cases will not be
ignored in the event that
they are proclaimed even
if they are disqualified.
This is not a disadvantage
but just a process of the
law that allows the case to
be resolved. If the case is
dismissed, the order is lifted. If the case becomes final, he/she will be disqualified even if he/she got the
most votes,” hel added.
Based on
Comelec data, there are
220 cases filed for illegal
campaigning and premature campaigning.
As for vote buying, there are 27 cases
that have been filed.
“Disqualifica –
tion cases can be filed
up to before a candidate
is proclaimed. But for an
election offense case, the
Comelec has five years to
file a criminal case in the
Regional Trial Court,” Laudiangco said.
There are a total of 672,016 village and
youth positions up for
grabs in Monday’s polls
— 42,007 each for village
chair and youth chair and
294,007 each for village
council members and
youth council members.
The same data
showed there are 67.8 million registered voters for
the village polls while registered youth voters are at
23.2 million.
The voting is
from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Submit campaign
expense report ASAP
The Department
of the Interior and Local Government (DILG),
meanwhile, reminded winning candidates to immediately submit their Statements of Contributions
and Expenditures (SOCE)
to ensure a seamless assumption of office.
“I-submit niyo
ang Statement of Contributions and Expenditures
sa Comelec. Importante
‘yan. At huwag n’yo nang
hintayin ang 30-day deadline (Submit your SOCE to
Comelec. That’s important. Don’t wait for the 30-
day deadline,” DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.
said in a statement.
Republic Act
(RA) 7166, or the Synchronized National and
Local Elections and Electoral Reforms Act, states
that no elected officials
may sit without filing their
respective SOCE.
The SOCE is
a comprehensive report
about the campaign contributions and expenditures of the political candidates.
C a n d i d a t e s
should file their SOCE at
the Office of the Election
Officer concerned on or
before Nov. 29, or not later
than one month after the
day of the election.
Meanwhile, the
DILG said it is no longer
requiring winning candidates to submit to the
agency a certification as
proof of submission of
SOCE to the Comelec
before they could assume
office.
“Considering that
candidates are already
required to file the SOCE
with Comelec under Section 14 of RA 7166, the
additional requirement of
the submission to DILG
of the Comelec Certification of SOCE filing may be
deemed as duplicative,”
the agency said in Memorandum Circular 2023-165
released Monday.
Abalos likewise
reminded winning candidates to ensure that the
inventory report of the barangays’ assets and properties is accurate.
“It should be accepted. At i-check n’yo
rin nang maigi kung ilang
computer ang iniwan, ilang sasakyan. Napakaimportante nito kasi mamaya
may nawawala, sa inyo pa
maibintang (You should
also check how many
computers or vehicles are
left. This is very important
because you could be held
liable for lost items),” Abalos said. (PNA)
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