Comelec: 29 poll bets probed for vote buying

MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-nine candidates in the May 2022 elections are being investigated by the Commission on Elections for alleged involvement in vote buying incidents, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said yesterday during the budget briefing at the Senate.

Garcia said the Comelec division has disqualified a governor and a city mayor from using the public treasury. He did not provide specific details.

Aside from the 29 pending vote buying cases, Garcia said there were other 1,000 complaints on social media, which were not substantiated by evidence.

Garcia was questioned by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III about the poll body’s action against vote buying. Pimentel said there were reports of alarming vote-buying in the last elections.

“Did you consider it as a taint to our electoral system? It distorts and destroys electoral outcomes. Do you have plans to address vote buying?” Pimentel asked.

Garcia agreed with Pimentel, saying that vote-buying “is now the modern cancer of our democratic way of life.”

“Yes your honor, you are absolutely correct, it is now the modern cancer of our democratic way of life. As far as the Comelec is concerned, we need legislation,” Garcia said. “We need to amend the omnibus election code on vote buying, 1985, we need to redefine vote buying to include the new forms of vote buying, especially where you can send cash using cellphone or modern way.”

Postponement

President Marcos is standing by the law postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls, saying it is within the power of the legislature to pass such a measure.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Marcos noted that the village and youth council elections had been postponed before.

“We have sufficient precedent for the postponement of the barangay and SK elections... In my time in government, I have seen maybe five postponements,” the President said.

“And so I think in terms of the law, it is well within the powers of Congress to postpone those elections because it is not contained in the Constitution, that is contained in the Local Government Code,” he added. – Alexis Romero