By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Laoag City—Atty. Fidel Gines, Laoag election officer from 2004-2007 returns to his old post effective June 4, 2018.
Mr. Gines, however only reported on June 9, 2018 due to an illness.
He transferred from Candon City, Ilocos Sur; the same post former Laoag election officer Atty. Julius Balbas now occupies.
In his return, Mr. Gines was in time for the submission deadline of the statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) for the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
He explained that the SOCE is a “thorough and comprehensive report about the campaign contributions and expenditures of all political parties that took part in the May 14 elections.
The SOCE submission deadline was on June 13, 2018.
Citing his stint in Candon, Mr. Gines said the winning candidates must have the certificate of compliance from the Commission on Elections before they formally assume their offices.
“Daytoy iti pakakitaan nga dagitoy a kandidato ket naka i-submit da tay SOCE da,” Mr. Gines explained.
Should candidates fail to submit their SOCE, the Comelec will send a demand letter along with penalties imposed by the Campaign Finance Department of Commerce.
In addition, Mr. Gines said that failure to submit the SOCE may result in the disqualification of the elected official.