ILOILO City – Candidates in the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were warned against vote-buying and campaigning on election day on Monday.
Those engaged in these practices must be reported to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said Assistant Regional Director Tomas Valera.
There are 114,385 people who filed certificates of candidacy for barangay and SK positions across Region 6.
The campaign period officially ended on Saturday, two days before election day.
Candidates campaigning after the campaign period, including on election day, is a common complaint reaching their office, Valera said.
“Dapat tandaan nila (candidates) nga no more campaigning sa election day, even a day before, kay election offense ina,” he said.
A winning candidate who would be proven to have campaigned on election day will be investigated and may face removal from position, said Valera.
The Comelec official encouraged voters to report to their office any candidate engaged in this practice or any other election offense.
“You can take a picture kon ano ang ila violation. Mas manami kon kuhaan mo pa gid sang video,” Valera said.
Meanwhile Valera explained that vote-buying is not limited to giving out cash in exchange for votes – distributing food inside voting centers constitutes vote-buying as well.
Candidates may give food to their poll watchers but Comelec staunchly prohibits them from doing the same to regular voters.
“Kon hatagan mo tanan nga botante sang pamahaw, that is a form of vote-buying,” stressed Valera.
Members of electoral boards have the power to prevent such practices from happening in their clustered precincts, he said.
They may also seek help from police officers detailed at voting centers, the Comelec official added.
Comelec and the Philippine National Police detailed two police officers in every voting center.
OTHER PROHIBITIONS
Moreover Comelec prohibits barangay officials and tanods (watchmen) from going in and out of voting centers after casting their votes.
Candidates are also prohibited from staying/loitering at voting centers unless they have yet to vote, Valera said.
Comelec has observed that many barangay officials accompany their supporters when the latter enter voting centers.
It reminded electoral boards to have the police arrest barangay officials going in and out of voting centers without any justified reason.
But Valera admitted that electoral boards might not be able to monitor the movement of barangay officials and candidates well as they would be busy with attending to the voters at the same time.
ON BALLOTS
There are 4,475,949 registered voters in the barangay level and 1,588,499 in the SK level across Western Visayas.
Official ballots for the SK election have a red print while those for the barangay have black, Valera said.
Voters must check their ballots well, especially those aged 18 to 30 years old, who are eligible to participate in both barangay and SK elections and will thus be given two ballots, he said.
Votes on ballots with errors will not be counted, said the Comelec official.
“There is a possibility that voters will write the names of SK candidates on barangay (ballots) or the other way around,” Valera said. “We should all be aware of the color-coding.”
In addition, Valera reiterated that the ballots will be marked “October 2017.” Voters must not alter this or their ballots will be rendered void, he said.
“Some voters might erase and change it. That will be considered marking and the votes will not be counted. Do not tamper the date,” Valera said./PN
