Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. on Sunday reminded candidates not to hire too many poll watchers, who could be used to buy votes during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election on Monday.
Citing Section 25 of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 10946, Abalos said: “There can be a presumption of vote buying in hiring or appointing more than two watchers per precinct per candidate.”
He added that the Comelec had previously monitored candidates using this tactic to gain more votes on election day.
“Hinihiling ko sa publiko na maging mapagmatyag at mag-ulat sa Comelec o DILG kung may mapansin silang presinto na umaapaw sa mga poll watchers. Iimbestigahan natin iyan nang maigi at gagawan ng kaukulang aksyon,” Abalos said.
(I’m appealing to the public to be alert and report to Comelec or DILG precincts overflowing with poll watchers. We will do something about that, and we will investigate them.)
Abalos likewise warned aspirants who were proven to have violated Section 264 of the Omnibus Election Code will be disqualified from public service and may face imprisonment of up to six years.