Comelec, DOJ sign pact on formalizing committee vs vote buying

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 25) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will start engaging the prosecutorial arm of the government to strengthen its fight against vote buying.

On Monday, the poll body inked a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Justice to formalize the creation of the "Kontra-Bigay committee."

"Kaya po itong ating gagawin na MOA signing ay napaka-importante po lalong-lalo na sa part ng Commission on Elections. Kung nasa panig po natin ang prosecutorial arm ng ating pamahalaan sa pangunguna ng National Prosecution Service at iba pang ahensya sa Department of Justice, masisigurado natin na hindi lang matatakot…na sadyang matutukan at magiging seryoso ang kampanya [laban] sa... makabagong cancer ng ating demokrasya," said Comelec Chairman George Garcia.

[Translation: This MOA signing is very important, especially for the Comelec. With the support of the National Prosecution Service and other agencies of the Department of Justice, we can make sure that the complainants will not be afraid. That we can show that we are focused and serious in this campaign against the new cancer in our democracy.]

Garcia also said that Comelec's progress in filing almost 2,000 show-cause orders to violators involved in premature campaigning is proof of their commitment to set higher standards in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE). He hoped to strengthen this for the next national and local elections in the years to come.

"Subalit mas lalong problema 'yung ganito, lagi po kasi kaming sinisingil ng mga mamamayan, nasaan na 'yung mga inireklamo namin? May napakulong na ba kayo? May na-prosecute na ba kayo? Sadya pong sa kaalaman ng DOJ, nahihirapan ang Comelec hanggang ngayon. 'Yung section two, 61 ng Omnibus Elections code, 'yan pa rin po ang definition ng vote buying base sa ating 1985 election code. Take note, 1985 Omnibus Election code," he said.

[Translation: However, our very problem is we are being asked by the citizens, where are the violators that we reported? Were you even able to send them to prison or prosecute them? For the DOJ's knowledge, we are having a hard time now, the definition of vote buying in section two, 61 of the Omnibus Elections code is [outdated]. That code has been the same until now.]

According to Garcia, there are new ways to buy votes from the people.

"'Yan po ang gusto natin maayos sa pamamagitan ng committee na ito na sadyang 'yung pong guidelines natin sa pamimili ay nilinang nang maayos, plinatsa nang maayos upang kung ano 'yung kasalukuyang nakikita natin at mga sitwasyon, ay ma-handle natin sa pamamagitan ng Committee ni Commissioner Maceda," he added.

[Translation: That's what we are solving now with the help of the committee, our guidelines are now refined, and we implement the rules based on the modern ways, so that we can handle the reinforcement effectively with the help of Commissioner Maceda.]

For his part, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla expressed his commitment in the program as this fortifies the foundation of democracy.

"Our constitution and laws have all made it clear, the act of buying and selling of one's vote, not only rubs the individual of their choice but strikes at the very heart of our democracy. Yet this menace has persisted challenging our institutions and our commitment to fair and free elections," Remulla said.