Martin Diño tells voters: Slap vote-buyers

Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño told voters to slap barangay candidates who will be caught buying votes for the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

In a press conference at Camp Crame on Thursday, Diño, undersecretary for Barangay Affairs, said “If you caught them buying votes, slap them.”

However, Diño said voters should also document the incidents of vote-buying and other election-related violations.

Voters should also report these violations to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), he said.

He noted that his office has already received videos and other documentation of election-related complaints.
Based on the Comelec website, some of the acts prohibited on election day are:
(1) Providing or accepting free food, drinks, transportation, and other things of value (Sec. 89, Omnibus Election Code, OEC).
(2) Holding of fairs, boxing matches, cockfighting events, horseracing, and similar sports (Sec. 261, OEC), and
(3) Opening of booths for refreshment or merchandise within 30 meters from the polling place.

/vvp