Barangay bets warned vs using social services for votes

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday gave a stern warning to incumbent officials running in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) not to use the government’s social services to attract voters or face sanctions.

Izza Marie Laurio, assistant director of the DILG’s national barangay operations office, said the government’s social services such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and the Food Stamp Program are off limits in the elections.

“Let’s not misuse government benefits,” she said in Filipino during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant and Bar in Quezon City.

Laurio said vote selling and buying are not just monetary in nature, but also includes false promises.

“There will be appropriate sanctions against candidates who violate our election laws,” she said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged the public to report incidents of vote buying and vote selling in their communities.

If possible, PNP public information officer Col. Jean Fajardo said people could take photographs or videos of these violations.

“If you are able to observe incidents of vote buying or selling in your area, it would be great if you can document it,” she said.

The Valenzuela City government, meanwhile, cancelled two medical missions yesterday to avoid being perceived as influencing the conduct of the elections.

The activities were supposed to be held in Barangays Bignay and Mapulang Lupa.

Social media

The monitoring of possible vote-buying and selling through digital platforms remains a challenge during the BSKE campaign period, according to Laurio, who said the digitalization of transactions makes it harder for authorities to monitor possible election violations.

Still, she said they have dedicated field officers to monitor alleged unscrupulous activities of BSKE candidates.

“It’s a bit of a challenge because we’re very digitalized now. We leave it to our field officers to monitor election-related violations of the candidates,” she said.

DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos earlier warned that they will immediately enforce suspensions ordered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) if winning candidates face disqualification charges.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the en banc has agreed to suspend the proclamation of winning BSKE candidates, even if their pending disqualification cases have not been resolved prior to election day.

There are over 1.4 million candidates nationwide for the BSKE.

The DILG also told local chief executives to remain non-partisan during the local elections or they may face sanctions.

“To our mayors and incumbents, you must stay apolitical and nonpartisan. The secretary is reminding us that – whoever is seen or reported and proven to show favor – there is a respective punishment for it. Let’s stay apolitical,” Laurio added.

Show-cause orders

The Comelec has issued show-cause orders (SCO) to over 7,000 candidates who allegedly engaged in premature campaigning for the Oct. 30 BSKE.
Latest data from Comelec showed a total of 7,103 BSKE candidates were served SCOs.
Of the figure, there were 3,854 answers to the SCO that were received by the poll body. At the same time, the Comelec said that “upon initial assessment,” 305 candidates are facing possible disqualification cases due to premature campaigning.
The Comelec likewise said there are 868 bets with SCOs that had the complaints dropped due to lack of “factual basis.”
As to illegal campaigning, the poll body said 341 SCOs were already issued.
In a related development, the Committee on Kontra Bigay (CKB) said it received a total of 81 complaints of cases of vote buying/selling, and that five petitions for disqualification were already filed.
The committee added there were 23 complaint-affidavits forwarded to the law department for docketing.
Apart from the physical removal of illegal campaign materials being conducted by the poll body, Garcia said filing of charges against these erring candidates will be made.
The Comelec has started its Oplan Baklas in Manila on Friday.
Garcia issued a warning to epal (people who inappropriately call attention to themselves) candidates that they will remove illegal campaign materials every day.
He said they have instructed all their local poll officials to strictly monitor their areas for possible campaign materials that are oversized and misplaced.
Last Oct. 19, the 10-day campaign period for the BSKE started nationwide, and will run until Oct. 28.

AI to mislead voters?

Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Tolentino yesterday urged Comelec to look into the possible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to mislead voters during the election campaign season.

In his dzRH radio program yesterday, Tolentino said voters can be misled with AI technology if used by candidates to change their looks.

“AI could sacrifice truthfulness if it is used to make a candidate look better,” Tolentino said in Filipino.

He urged the Comelec to look into coming up with its policy on the use of AI technology in campaigning ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.

In the radio program, Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay said the poll body can look into the use of AI in campaigning as misrepresentation and a possible ground to void one’s candidacy.

“The concept of misrepresentation is also included in the principle of truth in advertising,” Bulay said.

Tolentino echoed the warning of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who prohibited military and defense personnel from using AI photo generator apps amid fears that the photos harvested in the apps could be used for identity theft and espionage. — Romina Cabrera, Rhodina Villanueva, Marc Jayson Cayabyab