Three candidates have been perpetually disqualified from holding public office for their failure to submit their respective statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) to the Commission on Elections.

The COMELEC issued its latest update of cases dated September 8 which showed that its First and Second Divisions have issued separate rulings against Marcelo Nollen Morfe, Johnbert Haring Adih, and Eufracio Caermare Bala who were all declared perpetually disqualified to hold public office.

The divisions acted on the separate complaints filed by the COMELEC’s Political Finance and Affairs Department against the three candidates.

The commission’s First Division found Morfe to have failed to file his SOCEs when he ran in 2007 and 2022 for the position of Sangguniang Bayan member of General Nakar in Quezon.

Morfe was also ordered to pay administrative fines of P2,000 for the first offense and P20,000 for the second offense.

Adih was found by the COMELEC Second Division to have failed to file SOCEs in 2019 and 2022 when he ran for the position of Sangguniang Bayan member for the town of Lugus, Sulu.

He was slapped with an administrative fine of P10,000 for the first offense and P20,000 for the second offense.

The COMELEC Second Division also found Bala to have failed to submit SOCEs in 2010 and 2022 when he ran for the positions of Sangguniang Panlalawigan member for the 2nd District of Zamboanga del Norte and provincial governor, respectively.

Bala was ordered to pay administrative fines of P10,000 for the first offense and P50,000 for the second offense.