CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Authorities arrested a village official here after a concerned citizen accused him of engaging in vote-buying.
Salvador Misca, 47, Barangay Pigsag-an chair and an alleged supporter of comebacking mayor Vicente Emano, was arrested by elements of the Lumbia police and Tactical Operations Group-10 (TOG-10) on Sunday evening.
A police report said Misca was caught in the act of vote-buying. Seized from him were sample ballots and cash of around P41,000.
In Maguindanao, a lawyer for Vice President Jejomar Binay and the United Nationalist Alliance, said they filed a complaint in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) after they discovered the use of pre-shaded ballots in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.
Lawyer Kampo Amor said 787 pre-shaded ballots were discovered by their volunteers.
He did not say who among the national and local candidates were the beneficiaries of the pre-shaded ballots.
Amor said a similar incident was reported in Pagagawan town.
In Basilan, Bishop Martin Jumoad said he personally witnessed fraud being committed inside the Matarling Elementary School in Lantawan town.
“It was my first time to see for myself how these people were cheating with the ballots, right before my very own eyes and it was like nothing for them. I wonder why the BEIs were not doing anything,” Jumoad, who also quickly left the area, said.
Jumoad said he rushed to Matarling village after receiving reports of increasing tensions due to a bomb scare.
“When I arrived, many voters approached me and told me, someone had already voted for them. When I went inside one of the precincts, I chanced upon three persons carrying many ballots, shaded ballots and they were feeding these to the machines right in front of the public. The BEIs were there and they were watching and not doing anything, so I told the three persons that what they were doing was against the law. They just stared at me but continued to do what they were doing. They left as if nothing had happened, so I left too, for fear of my life,” Jumoad said by phone. Jigger Jerusalem, Jeoffrey Maitem, Julie Alipala, Allan Nawal, Chris Panganiban, Danilo Adorador III, Eldie Aguirre, Orlando Dinoy and Williamor Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao