By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental will begin imposing fines against candidates in the recently-held barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) who failed to file their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs).

Comelec-NegOcc elections supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria said they will begin issuing notices to the candidates who failed to file election expense statements.

Ananoria said they are finalizing the list and will submit it to the Comelec-Central Office.

Comelec had previously announced that there would be appropriate penalties for candidates who fail to submit their SOCE.

Ananoria said only 66 percent of the BSKE candidates in the province have complied with the requirement.

According to Republic Act 7166, candidates who fail to file their SOCE will result in penalties, and they may even be barred from holding public positions.

Administrative fines range between P1,000 and P30,000 on the first offense, and P2,000 to P60,000 plus perpetual disqualification from holding public office on the second offense.

The filing period ended last November 29./DGB, WDJ