BACOLOD City – Just a few hours after poll precincts opened yesterday morning for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Negros Occidental received numerous reports of alleged vote-buying.
Comelec-Negros Occidental elections supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria said the reports were mostly verbal, and the complainants claimed to the poll body that they had evidence.
Ananoria said they were advised to file a formal complaint, complete with their testimonies and evidence, for a disqualification case against the candidate.
The election supervisor emphasized that cases will still be filed even if the candidate in question is declared the winner.
At least one candidate in the province already faces a disqualification case, Ananoria confirmed, although he refused to identify whom.
Meanwhile, in the town of San Enrique, local police have arrested an individual for allegedly engaging in vote-buying activities on Sunday.
Major Leo Estopa, San Enrique municipal police chief, has refused to identify the suspect, although he confirmed that he was a 59-year-old resident of the town.
Estopa said four concerned citizens in the town’s Sitio Nasunugan in Barangay Batuan saw the suspect riding his motorcycle and allegedly handing out sample ballots with P500 cash.
The town police chief said the four immediately made a citizen’s arrest and held the individual.
When authorities searched the suspect, they recovered 52 sample ballots, each containing P500 bills, or a total of P26,000 in cash.
Estopa said the suspect was allegedly a relative of a barangay captain candidate in the said village.
The suspect could face charges for violating Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code.
If found guilty, the suspect could face one to six years of imprisonment.
The violator will also be denied the right to vote and prohibited from holding public office. (Watchmen Daily Journal)
