“Keep the money, but vote from your conscience.” This is how some Filipinos would justify vote-selling, an election offense. After all, with prices on the rise, every peso counts.
In one barangay in Mindanao, up to P6,000 was offered per voter. About 40,000 residents were estimated to have received payment, a resident told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
If this approximation were correct, this would mean more than half of the population in the barangay sold their votes. The candidate, then, would have also spent up to P240 million to score the local position.
The candidate who allegedly engaged in vote-buying belongs to a political family in the province. He ran for a congressional seat in the previous election. Had he won, he would have inherited the spot of his father, who reached the three-term limit of office. The candidate’s parents are both elected local officials.
In another barangay in southern Luzon, the cost of a “straight vote” — or voting for all the candidates in one party — supposedly starts at P10,000. Some said this could go up to P40,000, or roughly P5,000 per candidate.
This barangay is one of the sites of a large-scale mining operation. Under late Environment Secretary Regina Lopez, the mining firm was found to have violated several environmental policies. Yet, it applied for a new exploration permit.
PCIJ is withholding the publication of details for the safety of its sources.
No salary, but honoraria to recoup ‘investment’
Barangay officials do not receive a monthly salary. Instead, they are compensated through honoraria, according to the Local Government Code and the Department of Budget and Management’s budget circulars.
The punong barangay (barangay captain) receives not less than P1,000 and up to P33,843 (salary grade 14) per month. Meanwhile, Sangguniang Barangay members, barangay treasurer, and barangay secretary are entitled to honoraria of not less than P600 and up to P23,176 (salary grade 10).
The exact figure varies per barangay, according to the income classification of its city or municipality.
Aside from honoraria, barangay officials are also entitled to the following benefits, among others: Christmas bonus in the form of cash gift; insurance coverage and medical care, which include free hospitalization in government hospitals; and free tuition and matriculation fees in state schools in their areas during their term of office, which may be extended to two of their dependent children.
Even with the maximum allowable honorarium and benefits, it would be nearly impossible to recoup the supposed staggering cost of vote-buying. But for lawyer Rona Ann Caritos, executive director of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), there are “many ways to recover such investment.”
“Unang-una, ‘yung kickback sa projects (First the kickbacks from projects),” Caritos told PCIJ in an interview. She said many projects, such as mining, will have to secure permits from the barangay before being allowed to operate. “Kickback na nakukuha sa pag-exercise ng kanilang function (Kickbacks that they gain from exercising their function).”
Caritos also stressed the important role of incumbent barangay officials during elections.
“Sila ang lalabas na coordinator [ng candidates] in their respective barangays. Of course, sa mga ganyang transaction, meron at merong binibigay na budget sa barangay official, so possible rin ‘yan na way para ma-recover ‘yung ganyang gastos (They become coordinator [of candidates] in their respective barangays. Of course in such transactions, there’s a budget given to a barangay official. So that’s one possible way of recovering their expenses),” she said.
Vote-buying
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has received a total of 168 reports of vote-buying so far in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). Of this, charges against 28 candidates were filed before election day.
Comelec Commissioner Ernesto Maceda, who leads the poll body’s Kontra Bigay campaign, also said the agency was already preparing to file charges against 46 BSKE candidates. The remaining 94 complaints were still being evaluated, according to reports.
Comelec said it was also investigating one governor and 13 mayors, in whose homes vote-buying incidents reportedly happened.
PCIJ has requested Comelec a breakdown of provinces or regions where these alleged vote-buying incidents occurred. It has yet to receive a response, as of this writing.
While there have been convictions in vote-buying cases, which lead to candidates’ disqualification from holding public office, former Comelec commissioner Luie Guia told PCIJ that proving guilt in these cases can be challenging.
“Usually, they (candidates) are not there when the buying takes place and may feign ignorance. May deniability sila,” Guia said.
Guia said that if candidates are not disqualified because “there is not enough to connect them to vote-buying, the criminal aspect of the case against those who bought votes proceeds.” Candidates will be indicted in the criminal case when “probable cause of their involvement in vote-buying is established” in the preliminary investigation.
The former commissioner said Comelec’s initiative “hopes to address the gap where there is deniability, and I hope it succeeds.”
“I would say that the more effective deterrence is a credible threat to being disqualified, than to be criminally tried. Criminal proceedings weaken over time primarily because of witness availability,” he said.
For her part, Lente’s Caritos lauded the poll body’s “aggressive” campaign against vote-buying.
“Because Kontra Bigay is now a permanent committee, we are expecting prosecutions and investigations to still happen even after election day,” she said.
Lente had earlier said that “masterminds’’ in vote-buying should be charged as well.
Apart from prosecuting cases, Caritos added that the Comelec should also work on building confidence in ballot secrecy. She pointed out that in some areas, voters who declined payments would be putting themselves at risk.
“In some areas na controlled talaga, kahit sabihin nating sikreto [ang balota], meron at merong paraan na gagawin to ensure that the vote [cast] is really the vote for the candidate [who paid] (In some areas under the control of a politician, even if we say the ballot is secret, there’s always a way of finding out that the vote cast is really for the candidate who paid),” she said.
At least during election day, Comelec should ensure that this will not happen, Caritos said. “That’s one way to combat or temper this problem of vote-buying.”
She also encouraged Filipinos not to sell their votes.
“Kahit you vote from your conscience, ine-encourage mo lang rin ang politicians na maglabas ng pera (Even if you say you’re voting from your conscience, you’re still encouraging politicians to take money out of their pocket),” she said. “Mahirap magsimula sa mali (It’s unwise to start off with a wrongdoing).” END
Illustration by Luigi Almuena