Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año reminded the newly-elected officials (NEOs) on Tuesday, June 7 to file their statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) on or before June 8 to avoid delays in taking their posts.

He issued the call stressing that the winning candidates in the May 9 election will be barred from taking their oath of office without them filing their respective SOCEs.

“It’s plain and simple. No SOCE, no oath taking for NEOs. We encourage our newly-elected officials to start their term right by complying with the provisions of the law and submitting their SOCE to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on or before June 8, 2022,” Año said.

The SOCE includes cash and in-kind contributions received by the candidate from a political party and other sources and expenditures paid out of personal funds, out of cash contributions and incurred using in-kind contributions.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said donations given to candidates and political parties by their supporters are subject to income tax as prescribed under Revenue Memorandum Circular 22-2022.

It said that political contributions spent before and after the election period as declared by the Comelec are subject to income tax.

The Comelec also required candidates to file SOCE within 30 days after the polls. Penalties for violating it include barring them from running for any public office again.

Campaign expenses are subject to five percent creditable withholding tax like purchases of campaign materials, talent fees of entertainers and rental of political headquarters.

Año emphasized that it is incumbent among NEOs to declare their SOCEs prior to the start of their term as Republic Act (RA) No. 7166 or the "Synchronized National and Local Elections and Electoral Reforms Act" mandates that no official will be allowed to assume their elected posts without filing their SOCE with the Comelec.

Section 14 of RA 7166 states that “Every candidate and treasurer of the political party shall, within 30 days after the day of the election, file in duplicate with the offices of the Commission the full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election. No person elected to any public office shall enter upon the duties of his office until he has filed the statement of contributions and expenditures required.”

The same law stipulates that “failure to file the statements or reports in connection with electoral contributions and expenditures as required herein shall constitute an administrative offense for which the offenders shall be liable to pay an administrative fine ranging from One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) to thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00), at the discretion of the commission.”

“Sana po ay simulan ninyo (NEOs) ng tama ang inyong mga termino (I hope that you start your term on the right foot). Comply with your legal obligation as enshrined in our Constitution,” Año said.

“For the commission of a second or subsequent failure to file his/her SOCE, the law states that the offender shall be subject to perpetual disqualification to hold public office,’’ the DILG noted.

The DILG chief stressed that the NEOs have vowed ‘to file, with the Comelec, within 30 days after Election Day, a full, true and itemized SOCE in connection with the election’ when they filed their Certificate of Candidacy (COC).

“It was there on their COCs that they filed during the start of their bid to run for public office. So we implore our NEOs to walk the talk and comply with the law and their commitment to the Comelec,” he added.

Further, Año revealed that the DILG and the Comelec signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on March 14, 2012 giving the department and its attached agencies the capacity to bar NEOs from partaking in an oath of office and allowing a candidate to assume office without a certification from the poll body signifying that they have successfully complied with the SOCE obligation.

He said that by June 16, 2022, Comelec is expected to submit the said certification to the DILG.

DILG Undersecretary Jonathan E. Malaya explained that the filing of SOCEs are not only limited to winning candidates but is likewise extended to non-winners as well as the political parties.

“There is a misconception that a SOCE is filed only by NEOs but we are stating that according to the law, even non-winners and political parties are required to submit the said statement. Ito po at para sa lahat nang nag-file ng COC nila (This pertains to all who filed their COC),” Malaya said.

The prescribed SOCE forms can be downloaded from the Comelec website, www.comelec.gov.ph.