SENATOR Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares on Wednesday called for stricter measures and penalties against vote buying through electronic payment methods, ahead of the midterm elections.
In her privilege speech before the Senate floor, she said she will file a bill seeking stricter measures and punishments against electronic modes of vote-buying.
“Aside from technological reforms, a lot more needs to be done in our electoral landscape,” the senator said. “These include redefining what electoral crimes words like ‘premature campaigning,’ ‘vote-buying,’ and ‘vote-selling’ cover.”
Ms. Poe-Llmanzares cited the “Hello Garci” scandal, when phone calls were leaked between former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano conspiring to rig the 2004 presidential elections.
The former president had apologized for the incident in a televised message.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said it had received 1,226 vote-buying reports in the 2022 national and local elections.
Ms. Poe-Llmanzares said there is still a lack of measures punishing vote-buying through e-wallets.
Comelec has also backed a House bill making vote-buying a heinous crime, imposing a penalty of up to 40 years of jail time for those involved in vote-buying and a fine of at least P5 million.
International poll watchdog Asian Network for Free Elections has noted that rampant vote buying is “the biggest flaw in Philippine elections… which may plague the country more than any other in Asia.”
“So much must be done in so little time,” the senator said.
“We are fast approaching the midterm national elections next year and yet the landscape has not changed much since the electoral crisis two decades ago.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez
