Banks told to enhance surveillance of illegal poll activities

MANILA, Philippines — Banks and financial institutions should be cautious of the potential misuse of their systems for poll-related offenses amid the upcoming midterm elections in May, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Abuse of state resources, vote buying and selling are among offenses that must be thwarted by enhancing surveillance and monitoring of financial channels, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in a memorandum to BSP-supervised financial institutions.

“BSFIs should reinforce their measures and controls to ensure that appropriate customer onboarding processes, effective fraud management system and ongoing account and transaction monitoring capabilities are commensurate to respond against these fraudulent activities,” Fonacier said.

Fraud detection and anti-money laundering controls must be tightened by BSFIs to detect and prevent suspicious transactions, she noted.

Red flags include a significant number of new account registrations in areas where vote buying is suspected to be rampant, as well as large cash transactions or check encashments during the election period.

Irregular transaction patterns and unusually large cash deposits or withdrawals, especially through cash-out agents, should be monitored by BSFIs.

Suspicious transactions with no clear legal, trade or economic justification should be reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Fonacier said.

The BSP has partnered with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in securing the final trusted build of the automated election system (AES).

At yesterday’s formal escrow agreement signing, the AES software and source codes were deposited with the BSP to ensure their integrity leading up to the elections.

“By taking custody of the source code, the BSP reaffirms not only its legal obligation but also its steadfast commitment to supporting clean and transparent elections,” BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

Source codes are stored in digital media storage devices after undergoing the full final trusted build international certification and local source code review.

The sources codes for the 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022 elections are deposited in the BSP’s vaults.

No dagdag-bawas

Comelec Chairman George Garcia yesterday allayed fears of cheating in the elections.

“We guarantee everyone that dagdag-bawas (adding and subtracting the number of votes) is impossible in an automated election,” Garcia said.

Vice President Sara Duterte earlier said her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, is concerned over the possibility of “dagdag-bawas” electoral fraud in the upcoming polls.

Not a single case of “dagdag-bawas” has been proven since the adoption of automated elections in 2010, Garcia noted.

Meanwhile, barangay officials have been warned against using public funds, state resources and facilities for candidates’ campaigns.

Local officials will be charged with election offenses if they violate this rule, Garcia said.

Plazas and basketball courts, he said, are public facilities and should not be used exclusively by one candidate. — Mayen Jaymalin