Roxas urges witnesses, victims of vote buying to file cases

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Curbing vote-buying is easier said than done since witnesses and victims of this illicit act have refused to come forward to file formal complaints, according to Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.

“We have received a number of reports about vote-buying. The problem is the people do not come forward to file complaints against those involved,” Roxas told a news briefing at Camp Crame.

“How can the police arrest those responsible for vote-buying if we do not know who exactly distributed and received money in exchange of votes?” he said.

He surmised that the lust for power and money of some candidates for the barangay (village) council drove them to resort to vote-buying to ensure their victory.

The opportunity to pocket public funds allocated to barangay councils was also a major reason why some unscrupulous individuals join village politics, he added.

Roxas noted that village councils — considered as the smallest political unit in the Philippines — received millions of pesos in internal revenue allotment (IRA) from the national government.

In the 2014 budget, he said barangay councils were set to get at least P30 billion in IRA.

“Even if they spend money in buying votes, they know they can get their money back. That’s why COA (Commission on Audit) should be strict in auditing the budget of barangay councils and ensure transparency in their transactions,” he said.

“I think this would be a strategic or comprehensive answer to this problem. If the candidates know they will have no chance of getting back what they spent in the elections, they will have no motivation to engage in vote-buying.”

Roxas congratulated the winners in the barangay elections as he reminded them that elected government officials should provide public service to their constituents.

“We offered ourselves to the people to serve our countrymen, our real boss. Hindi po tayo lumahok sa barangay elections para maghari-harian sa ating barangay (We did not run in the barangay elections to get the chance to play king in our village),” he said.

“They should serve even those who supported their rivals and those who did not vote for them.”

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