Vote-buying in House race up to P7M per congressman, says aspirant Gonzales

Vote-buying by aspirants for the post of speaker could reach as high as P7 million for every House member, Pampanga Representative Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales said on Tuesday.

Gonzales, who's also eyeing the leadership of the House of Representatives, said he had been informed that the rate of securing congressmen's votes were higher than initially thought.

"Sa P2 milyon maliit pa nga yun e. I heard yesterday na magiging P7 milyon pa yan," Gonzales said.

Allegations of vote buying was first raised by another aspirant Davao Del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez.

Alvarez said amounts ranging from P500,000 to P1 million had been offered to each congressman to seek their vote for those who aspire to become the next Speaker of the House.

He added that once a congressman receives the money from the speaker-aspirant, the former would have to sign a "manifesto of support."

While it could be that vote buying is happening in the House, Gonzales urged his fellow lawmakers not to resort to that anymore.

"Sinisira natin ang institusyon e. Ang tingin ng taumbayan sa atin, kapag isa kang mambabatas, napakataas ng tingin. And they will bribe P1 million or P2 million? Palagay ko nasisira ang pagkatao natin," he said.

"Sa mga gumagawa niyan, huwag nang gawin. Sabihin nalang nila kung ano ang magandang gagawin nila sa Kongreso," he added.

Speaker-aspirant Lord Allan Velasco has earlier said he did not pay his fellow congressmen to vote for him, saying that each one of them "has his own views and that could not be bought easily."

Other possible candidates Leyte Representative-elect Martin Romualdez and Taguig City Representative-elect Alan Peter Cayetano, on the other hand, have yet to speak up on the matter. —NB, GMA News