Elections in the Philippines have always been marred with accusations of vote-buying. Some people may think it’s no big deal to sell their votes, but the Philippine National Police (PNP) wants to stop it.
PNP spokesman Colonel Bernard Banac said at a conference in Quezon City today that people should immediately report any instances of vote buying. He also said they should not feel any regret if they have to let go of the money offered to them.
“Sacrifice whatever that amount is. What’s more important is to have a clean and honest election. Report these incidents. Don’t feel any regret of letting go PHP500 (US$9.56) or PHP1000 (US$19.12). What you should do when you receive the money is to report it immediately to the PNP,” Banac said in Filipino and English.
People who report to the PNP should present pieces of evidence such as the money they received or the list of candidates that they were told to vote for.
Banac said that as of now, there have been two reported incidents of vote-buying. One is in Cavite where 10 people who are known as supporters of Cavite gubernatorial candidate Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla were arrested for allegedly engaging in vote-buying. The other incident was in Quezon province, but Banac didn’t provide any details.
Ideally, the person who received the money should be the one to report the incident to the police.
“It’s important that if there’s a vote-buying incident, the person who received the money should report to PNP. It’s important they present the evidence and give a voluntary personal testimony that will prove that he received money from a person or group that is buying votes.”
Banac warned that vote-buying is illegal and anyone who plans to buy votes will be imprisoned. He also reminded people that a liquor ban will be declared starting the midnight of May 12 up to the midnight of May 13.
The midterm elections will be on May 13 and precincts will open at 6am and close at 6pm. President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the day a special non-working holiday.
