BSKE winners with pending cases cannot assume their posts

Winning candidates in last month’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) but with pending Petitions for Disqualification or Petitions for Cancellation of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) filed against them will not be allowed to hold office.

This clarification was made by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier this week as winners in the recent village and youth polls are set to assume their posts on June 30.

In the past, the Comelec said a number of candidates in the village and youth polls are facing disqualification cases for being overaged among others. Majority of these overaged candidates are SK bets found to be more than 24 years old.

In a statement, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez explained that Section 3 of their Resolution No. 10196 states that an SK candidate must be “at least eighteen (18) years but not more than twenty-four (24) years of age on the day of the elections.”

Jimenez said Section 40 of the Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC) likewise disqualifies from running for elective positions those who have been removed from office as a result of an administrative case.

Meanwhile, the Comelec will no longer accept late filing of the Statements of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs) as the filing already ended June 13. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)