NBI to embed agents in campaign rallies

To apprehend those buying, selling votes

MANILA, Philippines — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents will be blending with the crowd in campaign rallies to apprehend those caught in the act of vote buying, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in yesterday’s Laging Handa virtual forum.

“On the part of the NBI, I have requested the officer-in charge Eric Distor that they should mobilize their field and regional offices, make them more active and not just wait for tips or possible complaints against vote buying,” said Guevarra.

“They should go out and mingle in the rallies, sorties and campaigns so they can capture those who are committing these election offenses like vote buying. Right in the gathering they can effect warrantless arrests,” he added.

The Department of Justice chief likewise warned that the one buying the vote and the person receiving the amount are both punishable under the law.

Guevarra also said that while preferential attention will be given to complaints on vote buying, the DOJ would be able to present a stronger case if people come out and file the complaint. He assured the public that once a complaint has been filed, the agency will observe due process and immediately act on it.

If a complainant possesses evidence against vote buying but prefers to remain anonymous, Guevarra said evidence can be submitted without disclosure of sender’s full name and address, and this will be forwarded to the NBI for case build-up.

Guevarra earlier said he would form a composite team from the National Prosecution Service, NBI, Public Attorney’s Office and DOJ Action Centers as part of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s Inter-Agency Task Force “Kontra Bigay” against vote buying.

Don’t be afraid

For his part, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia urged the public not to be afraid in reporting vote-buying incidents because the poll body and Task Force Kontra Bigay will be on their side, especially when they have sufficient evidence to prove their claims.

“We know that many are afraid to go against politicians. That is why it is good to make the Comelec aware of these incidents, even if (mere) accusations or allegations,” Garcia said in Filipino on “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News.

“You accused somebody, at least you give us the basis and we will investigate,” Garcia added, noting that people could also use their mobile phones or other gadgets to record the vote-buying incidents and report it before the Comelec’s local offices to any of the member-agencies of Task Force Kontra Bigay.

Delisted

Due to various reasons, nearly 10.5 million voters have been deactivated and deleted by the Comelec from the voters’ list that will be used in the May 9 national and local elections.

In a hybrid press conference yesterday, Commissioner Garcia presented before reporters the voter registration data of the poll body, showing a total of 65,831,792 individuals who have registered for the May polls.

Of this number, 7,236,952 were deactivated and 3,246,262 were deleted.

Deactivated voters and those deleted are not disenfranchised voters as they can still apply before the Comelec for reactivation of their records, Garcia said.

An additional 1,520,500 Sangguniang Kabataan voters who will be turning 18 years old on election day were also recorded in the Comelec’s list of voters for the May 9 polls.

Comelec bared that 93,567 individuals have applied for local absentee voting, 84,221 applications were approved while 9,346 were junked due to various reasons. The local absentee voting will run from April 27 to 29, 2022.

The Comelec also reported yesterday that 63,856,233 ballots have been printed at the National Printing Office (NPO), or 94.68 percent of the 67,442,616 total ballots that will be used on election day.

Of the printed ballots, the Comelec said that 72 percent or 48,504,708 have already completed the verification and re-verification process while 178,990 ballots were deemed defective and need reprinting. The Comelec and the NPO are aiming to complete the printing of ballots by April 21. – Robertzon Ramirez