Must have filed SOCE by June 13: New officials assume today

CEBU, Philippines — Local government officials elected in the May 13 polls nationwide will assume office formally by midday today, June 30.

In Cebu City, mayor-elect Edgardo Labella will assume office after he takes his oath in a ceremony at the Plaza Sugbo this morning together with other winning candidates from his group, Partido Barug-PDP Laban.

Labella took the mayorship from outgoing Mayor Tomas Osmeña with an 18,929 vote margin. Labella got 265,738 votes while Osmeña got 246,813 votes.

Taking the oath with Labella today are vice mayor-elect Michael Rama, and councilors-elect Raymond Alvin Garcia, Prisca Niña Mabatid, Donaldo Hontiveros, Antonio Cuenco, Phillip Zafra, Renato Osmeña, Jr. and Eduardo Rama, Jr.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Lazaro Javier will administer the oath.

Winning councilors from Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan already took their oath on June 21. Senator Sonny Angara administered the oath.

Labella has vowed for a “reconciliatory and inclusive” governance. He said he will call for an executive-legislative agenda with members of the City Council regardless of political affiliation.

In his first 100 days, he will call for a command conference with all policemen in the city and captains of all 80 barangays here to discuss peace and order and solutions to the problems of traffic, garbage, and flooding.

The ceremony at Plaza Sugbo will begin with a Mass at 10 a.m. Expected to attend are Presidential Assistant for Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino, dignitaries, ambassadors, consuls, officials of different regional government agencies, and other stakeholders and supporters.

At 2 p.m. today, the outgoing administration will turn over pertinent documents to Labella’s administration.

Outgoing City Administrator Annabeth Cuizon said the turnover will be attended by outgoing and incoming heads of offices and departments of the city government.

Rama will lead the inaugural session of the new Council afternoon on July 2, Tuesday.

At the Capitol, returning governor Gwendolyn Garcia took her oath of office last Friday.

SOCE

Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government reminded the newly elected officials earlier that they cannot assume office if they could not file their Statement of Contributions and Expenses (SOCE) on June 13.

“We are reminding the winners to submit their SOCEs to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) this early because they may not be allowed to assume office until they have complied with this requirement,” said DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya in an article published on the DILG website.

“Filing your SOCE is your first legal obligation to the nation and to the public. It is always good to start with a clean slate and to prove that you are worthy of the votes of your constituents,” Malaya added.

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

Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7166 or the "Synchronized National and Local Elections and Electoral Reforms Act" 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.”

DILG and the Commission on Elections have signed a memorandum of agreement, which states that DILG or any of its attached agencies shall require winning candidates to present a Certification from COMELEC that he or she has complied with his SOCE obligation satisfactorily.

“In the absence of the Comelec certification, a newly elected official shall not be allowed to perform his/her functions as public officials. His failure to file the SOCE on time would entail a delay in public service and would cause a leadership vacuum in their respective LGUs,” Malaya said. — /JMO (FREEMAN)