Last-minute vote-buying spree seen

MANILA, Philippines — The public must be extra vigilant starting today until early morning of election day on Monday when vote buying reportedly becomes rampant, the Commission on Elections has advised.

In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia yesterday said the most crucial periods of the election season that the public should monitor are the two days before election day and the early hours before precincts open on May 12.

“Saturday, Sunday and early morning of Monday – that is when vote buying happens.Applying ink (on the voters’ fingers) takes place on these days,” Garcia said.

“The ‘guarding’ of people so they won’t be able to go out and vote, that usually happens starting Saturday until Monday. This is called negative voting,” he added.

“Please monitor and observe carefully if these things do happen in your communities,” Garcia urged the public.

The Comelec chief also stressed that the liquor ban will be strictly implemented starting tomorrow until election day.

“Let us not engage in drinking sessions at this time, but if it can’t be helped, do it inside your home. It is really prohibited. Even cockfighting is not allowed,” he said.

The Comelec’s Committee on Kontra Bigay earlier said most vote buying complaints it received came from Calabarzon, followed by Central Luzon and Metro Manila. Laguna, Marikina and Rizal were the top three areas.

For its part, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has intensified its “Kontra Bigay” operations to combat vote buying and selling in the midterm elections.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil yesterday directed police regional directors and field commanders to bolster operations against people buying and selling votes.

“We will ensure that those who dare sabotage the electoral process through vote buying will be held accountable. Our duty is clear: to defend the people’s right to a clean and honest vote,” Marbil said in a statement.

Marbil urged the public to report vote buying and selling activities to the nearest police stations in their communities or through hotlines or Comelec channels.

The Kontra Bigay operations will remain in full force as the nation goes to the polls.

Fully prepared

The Comelec yesterday declared readiness in holding the midterm elections.

“The Comelec is fully prepared for the coming elections,” Garcia said.

He noted that the Final Testing and Sealing (FTS) of the automated counting machines in all the polling precincts have been completed.

Garcia said only minor issues were encountered, mostly administrative matters. “It’s the first time we had an FTS that wasn’t problematic. It was so successful as we were able to seal all machines after they are tested,” said Garcia.

“The Comelec is ready. What is important is that our contingency measures are intact in case there are still issues that should be addressed,” he stressed.

At the same time, the official said they are continuously monitoring the peace and order situation in the country. “So far, there are no reports of untoward incidents,” Garcia added.

The official also reminded national and local candidates that campaigning is prohibited on Sunday as well as on election day. Garcia added that candidates should start removing their campaign materials, especially huge tarpaulins displayed in the streets.

Gun ban violators

With two days before voters cast their ballots for the midterm elections, the number of people arrested for violating the nationwide election gun ban reached 2,940, the PNP reported yesterday.

The three regions with the most numbers of violators are Metro Manila (1,011) followed by Central Visayas (380) and Central Luzon (362)  since the gun ban started last Jan. 12.

Most are civilians (2,828), including 13 foreigners and three minors.

Among those arrested are 48 security guards, 19 police officers, 18 military personnel, seven from other law enforcement agencies and six militiamen. Eleven government officials were also among the gun ban violators. The PNP said three communist rebels were also arrested.

Up to 2,948 firearms and 77 explosives were seized at checkpoints, police response and buy-bust operations. The PNP has documented 41 election-related incidents across the country, 26 of which were classified as violent cases.

6 nabbed for fake promise to rig vote

Six individuals who allegedly offered to manipulate election results in exchange for P30 million were arrested on Thursday night in a joint entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Quezon City.

NBI director Jaime Santiago said the suspects promised a guaranteed win to mayoral candidate Genaro Montefalcon in Iba, Zambales by tampering with automated vote-counting machines.

Those arrested were identified as Roland Ucab, Cherrylyn Adriano, Ralp Edward Salas and Francis James Mapua.

According to Santiago, the suspects initially demanded P30 million from Montefalcon in exchange for election manipulation services. They later agreed to a P15-million down payment, which led to the setup of the entrapment operation in a hotel in Quezon City.

The suspects claimed to have ties with the Comelec, with one of them allegedly introducing himself as a relative of former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos and senatorial candidate Benhur Abalos.

Pay hike for poll workers

The government will spend P7.48 billion to provide higher compensation for teachers and poll workers for Monday’s midterm elections.

In a statement, the Department of Budget and Management said the compensation of poll workers under the 2025 national budget is at P7.48 billion. This will cover the increased compensation of 758,549 teachers and poll workers for the national and local elections.

Based on the law, persons rendering election service are entitled to honoraria, travel allowance, communication allowance, meal allowance and service credit.

Following the directive of President Marcos, all poll workers will get a P2,000 across the board increase in allowance. As such, the new honoraria rates for those working in the Electoral Board are P12,000 for chairperson, P11,000 for poll clerks and third members and P8,000 for support staff.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman called on agencies to ensure the timely release of higher compensation for teachers and poll workers.

Threat monitoring

Fighting back against attempts to influence the conduct of the May 12 midterm elections, the government yesterday opened its threat monitoring center to combat disinformation and misinformation on social media platforms.

Government officials led the unveiling of the Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan (KKK) threat monitoring center at the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center in Quezon City.

Among those present were Presidential Communications Office head Jay Ruiz, Commission on Elections Commissioner Nelson Celis and Assistant Secretary Aboy Paraiso, spokesman for the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Also in attendance were representatives of Meta, Google and TikTok.

Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and manned by so-called keyboard warriors, the KKK facility will flag down content or posts sowing misinformation, disinformation and online manipulation related to the upcoming elections.

People can call the center and relay lies about the elections being peddled on social media.

Special permits

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said that the LTFRB has issued special permits for 829 units of public utility vehicles (PUVs) for the May 12 midterm elections.

Guadiz added the LTFRB received at least 880 applications for the special permits but only 829 units were approved. He said the special permits will be valid from May 9 to 18.

According to Guadiz, the issuance of special permits will allow the PUVs to take routes aside from their authorized routes in order to serve more commuters during the elections.

President Marcos has declared May 12 as a special non-working holiday.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines placed their 44 commercially operated airports on heightened alert for the surge in passenger traffic.

CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said they are coordinating with local authorities and airlines for efficient processing of passengers, especially at the check-in counters.

CAAP reminds all passengers to arrive at the airport in advance of their scheduled flights, monitor airline advisories and adhere to airport safety protocols to ensure smooth and stress-free travel.

For its part, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has placed itself on “full alert status” in preparation for the elections.

The agency has activated its “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos,” which would become effective from May 9 to 13, according to PCG spokesperson Capt. Noemie Cayabyab.

PCG personnel would also be sent to perform routine checks at ports and sea vessels, as well as provide rapid emergency and medical response, to make sure passengers and others remain safe in their respective journeys. — Emmanuel Tupas, Louise Maureen Simeon, Mark Ernest Villeza, Bella Cariaso, Rudy Santos, Ghio Ong