Village chief, 3 arrested for vote buying in Iloilo, Cebu

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Four persons were arrested in two separate incidents after they were caught either distributing or handling envelops containing money and sample ballots in Iloilo and Cebu on Sunday, the eve of the May 13 elections.

The two arrested in Cebu were identified as Rudy Obado, 40, and Marjun Geraldez who were detained at the police station in Naga City pending filing of charges against them.

They were allegedly caught by a group of policemen led by Inspector Ruel Burlat of the Regional Public Safety Battalion about 1:50 p.m., while they were distributing envelopes containing money and sample ballots in Barangay (village) Lutac, Naga City.

In Iloilo, a village chief and a companion were caught sorting envelopes containing P300 and sample ballots each inside the Barangay Hall of  Embarcadero in Dumangas town, Iloilo.

Insp. Jonathan Pinuela, Dumangas police chief, said he and his team decided to drop by at the barangay hall about 2:30 p.m. for a short stop after patrolling the village.

To their surprise, they saw Embarcadero Barangay Captain Arbues Gonzaga and Rubiste Deocampo, 60, sorting out 39 envelopes – each containing P300 and a sample ballot.

Gonzaga and Deocampo were arrested and detained at Dumangas police station pending filing of charges.