Vote buying claims ahead of ABC polls

CEBU, Philippines - With two days left before the Association of Barangay Councils election, one camp has accused the other of trying to buy votes.

Busay Barangay Captain Eliodoro “Yody” Sanchez yesterday accused his opponent, Michael Ralota of Barangay T. Padilla, of trying to win the favor of the barangay captains, an act Ralota has denied.

Sanchez and Ralota are eyeing the ABC presidency, the winner of which will also sit as ex-officio members of the legislative body of Cebu City.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Sanchez said the barangay captains whom Ralota invited for lunch in White Gold House last week, were given P1,000 each and asked to vote straight for Ralota’s lineup of candidates.  

Sanchez said some of these barangay captains texted him themselves.

“I received reports of vote buying as per information from the barangay captains,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez also claimed that Ralota earlier gave P5,000 to the barangay captains to ensure that he will win against Capitol Site Barangay Captain Manuel Guanzon, before the straw balloting was conducted at the house of Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña.

Guanzon and Ralota were both endorsed by Osmeña. But for the candidate to be finalized, a straw balloting was conducted in which Ralota won over Guanzon with a “slight” margin. Sanchez said he also received this report from the barangay captains themselves.

But Ralota, in a telephone interview with The FREEMAN, denied the allegations.

“That is not true,” Ralota said.

Ralota, however, admitted that around 40 barangay captains attended the lunch meeting with him last week. 

According to Ralota, he is not “rich” enough to give money to the barangay captains and that he is not into vote buying.

“Nganong manghatag man ko nga wala man gani ko kwarta,” Ralota said, adding that he was only banking on the endorsement of Osmeña. If the former mayor did not endorse him, Ralota said he would not have chosen to run.

The winners of the municipal and city-level elections will then elect the league’s president at the provincial or metropolitan level on December 17.

The election for president and other officers of the ABC regional and national chapter will be on January 13 and 14, respectively.

The Board of Election Supervisors will be composed of the DILG provincial director, or the DILG officer in a city or municipality, as the case may be, and representatives of the Commission on Elections and a local people’s or non-government organization.

The Board of Election Supervisors is tasked to resolve any controversy that might arise during the elections at their respective levels. —/BRP (FREEMAN)