VP Robredo on vote-buying: Take their money but use your conscience to vote

Vice President Leni Robredo said Tuesday that Filipinos who are offered money in exchange for their vote should take the money but vote for their preferred candidate.

Robredo made the response when asked for advice on how to deal with vote buying by a group of household service workers who support her 2022 presidential bid.

"Lagi kong sinasabi, tanggapin niyo kasi galing sa inyo 'yan. Pera 'yan ng taumbayan. Pero iboto mo kung ano ang nasa konsiyensiya mo [I always say, take the money because that money came from you. That money came from public funds. But vote based on your conscience]," Robredo said.

"Pakiramdam nila, may utang na loob sila kasi tinanggap nila ang pera, pero hindi. Kapag namimili ng boto at iyong resulta ng eleksyon ay talo siya, mag-iisip na 'yun na hindi effective ang pagbili ng boto [Some might feel indebted, but if the candidate loses the election, they will think twice about doing the same thing next time]," she added.

Robredo said that while vote-buying is illegal, it is hard to nab the perpetrators because it is not done in public, and nowadays could even be done through electronic transfers.

The Vice President added that voters should not allow vote buyers to scare them into submission because their vote will remain secret.

"They are those who intimidate people by saying, malalaman ko ang boto mo. Hindi po, wala pong paraan para malaman kung ano ng binoto mo [They scare people by saying, 'I know who you will vote for.' But they can't. There is no way they would know that]," Robredo said.

Robredo added that candidate who buy votes would not use their own money to do so. 

"Kung binibili niya ang boto, hindi niya gagamitin ang sarili niyang pera pa ipambili nun. May pinanggalingan iyon na hindi tama [Those who buy votes to get elected won't use their own money to buy votes. They will use money they got through questionable means]," Robredo added. — BM, GMA News