In this photo, taken on May 14, 2018, voters show crisp P100 bills as proof of vote buying during barangay elections in Mandaluyong City. (Photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Barely two weeks before election day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) urged voters on Saturday not to take it upon themselves to foil incidents of vote buying but rather report these to authorities to ensure that erring candidates would be prosecuted.
According to Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez, the commission would appreciate it if voters would be able to document this unscrupulous activity. But it would be better if it could be first reported to authorities so that this could be properly acted upon and the life of the concerned citizen would not be put in danger.
“If you want to help resolve this situation, first go to the police or to the local Comelec,” Jimenez said. “Immediately report it if you heard or were told that such an activity was going to happen in your area. You don’t have to wait for the money to be handed to you and you’d document that.”
A mere photograph of a cash-filled envelope with the candidate’s credentials “isn’t proof that vote-buying occurred,” he said.
“In this politically charged atmosphere, we cannot discount the possibility that the person who released such picture may be working for the opponent of the candidate being accused. In order to properly prosecute the offense, you have to report it to authorities because they have procedures which could help lead to the filing of a case and disqualification [of the erring candidate],” he said.
To manage public expectations, the poll official reminded that prosecuting violators might take time — even to the point that they might already have assumed office — since they would still have be accorded due process.
“We have to prove that the person has done something wrong, and he should also be given the chance to defend himself,” Jimenez said. “If you want to be part of the solution, you have to be ready for a long-term activity. It will not cost you any money, but will cost you a commitment in pursuing the case.”
Earlier, Jimenez warned that it’s not only the vote buyer who may be fined, jailed and disqualified from holding public office for committing this election office but also the person who sold off their vote.
In previous elections, anecdotes of vote buying ranged from voters being treated to a feast and bussed in, to people knocking at homes in the dead of the night distributing cash, to even plastic-wrapped cash supposedly being hidden in porridge handed to voters.
/atm