Isabela politician disqualified over failure to file SOCEs

MANILA, Philippines — A politician from Isabela has been disqualified from seeking an elective post for failing to submit his statements of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) for two consecutive elections.

The Commission on Elections issued the ruling against Emmanuel Pua based on a petition filed by the Comelec’s political finance and affairs department.

Records showed Pua failed to submit his SOCEs after running for councilor in San Mariano town in 2019 and provincial board member in 2022.

The Comelec ordered Pua to pay administrative fines of P10,000 and P40,000 for the first and second offense, respectively.

Republic Act No. 7166 requires candidates to file SOCEs after an election.

Failure to comply may result in perpetual disqualification from holding public office aside from administrative penalties.

The ruling was issued amid the continuous enforcement of the SOCE filing requirement.

In previous years, the Comelec had disqualified other poll candidates for failing to submit SOCEs.