Rampant vote buying is getting the attention of Commission on Elections once more, with the approach of the synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections slated on October 30.
Provincial Comelec Supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria said that the Comelec is formulating innovative ways on how to combat vote buying, through a resolution which will be released either by this week or the next.
Ananoria, in press briefing organized by the Philippine Information Agency, which also had the participation of Teodora Sumagaysay, Provincial Director of the Department of Interior and Local Government in Negros Occidental, disclosed that the Comelec will also enlist the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Central Bank, and other monetary institutions in the campaign against vote buying.
This was after Comelec noted that vote buying also made online and through GCash.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, Ananoria pointed out that vote buying is punishable by law, with one year to six years of imprisonment, without probation and disqualification to hold public office, and forfeiture of one’s right to vote.
He admitted that the problem of convicting beyond reasonable doubt, on a vote buying case, is usually the lack of witnesses, or complainants.
Ananoria however said Comelec has established a remedy for it, which is included in the soon to be released resolution.
He stressed that the Comelec is determined to stop the practice. “This is also a dry run for the coming 2025 Mid-year Election,” Ananoria said.
The filing of Certificate of Candidacy for BSKE 2023 candidates is set for August 28 to September 2.
Ananoria said that Comelec Task Force Kontra Daya will also be activated. Its members are composed of Comelec, DILG, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Police.
A week before the start of election period on Aug. 28, members of the Regional Joint Security Coordinating Center are scheduled to meet to discuss parameters in classifying election watchlist areas in Western Visayas, Ananoria said.
Negros Occidental, which has 662 barangays, including those in highly urbanized Bacolod City, has 2,014,725 registered voters.
(Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)