Comelec: Village bets handing out relief goods may be charged with vote-buying

Barangay candidates and their families caught distributing relief goods during the barangay election period may be slapped with the charge of vote-buying, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday.
 
In Resolution No. 9804, the Comelec prohibited candidates, their spouses and their close family members from participating in relief goods distribution.

"No candidate or his or her spouse or member of his family within the second civil degree of affinity or consanguinity shall, directly or indirectly, participate in the distribution of any relief or other goods to the victims of the calamity or disaster," the resolution read.

"Any such participation shall likewise be treated as an election offense of vote-buying... and shall be a ground for disqualification..." the Comelec resolution read.

Vote-buying, defined as giving or promising money or anything of value in exchange for votes, is an election offense and may cause the disqualification of a candidate, and a one- to six-year imprisonment, according to the Omnibus Election Code.

"Considering na itong calamity na ito ay nangyari during the election period, sinisigurado lang namin na itong distribution of relief will not be taken advantage of by candidates," poll chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. said in a "24 Oras" report.

Commissioner Lucenito Tagle added in a separate phone interview that candidates should not use relief goods for their campaign since these goods were donated by concerned citizens.

"Hindi naman kanya 'yun, bakit niya sinasabing kanya 'yun? Bawal 'yun," Tagle told GMA News Online.

Comelec said it has received reports that "some candidates are taking advantage of the ongoing relief operations to pursue their candidacies" in Bohol and other areas affected by the recent earthquake that hit Central Visayas.

"[T]herefore, a clear policy should be adopted to secure that such operation remains non-partisan and fair," the resolution said.

The Comelec added that relief goods in Bohol should be coursed through the Philippine National Red Cross.

The Comelec issued the resolution amid reports that Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio Evasco in Bohol shooed away Red Cross volunteers for refusing to turn over the relief goods to the local government.

 "I said, 'I-centralize natin ito.' So they didn't listen to me. So I said, 'Better get out of this place 'cause you are complicating things instead of helping us out,'" Evasco admitted telling Red Cross volunteers in a report.

Brillantes said the Bohol mayor is not authorized to distribute the relief goods from the Red Cross, which is a private institution.

"We cannot understand 'yung posisyon niya na [sila] dapat ang mag-co-control... Sila dapat ang mag-co-control when it involves public funds distribution," the poll chief explained.

"Itong Red Cross, private donations ito. Bakit niya gustong pakialaman 'yun?" Brillantes added.

The Red Cross, meanwhile, could administer and disburse the relief goods releases through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which also includes the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices, the resolution said.

"In such case, the full obligation and accountability shall be borne by the NDRRMC and LDRRMC," the Comelec said.

The Comelec also prohibited coursing the relief goods through any incumbent barangay official who has filed or intends to file a certificate of candidacy or those officials whose spouse or family members within second civil degree also intends to run.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) earlier reported that some displaced residents have not received relief goods allegedly due to hoarding by municipal and barangay officials.

The Comelec then mandated all its field offices and its citizens' arm to monitor the relief goods operations.

More than three million people or 631,605 families in 1,494 villages in 59 towns and six cities in six provinces were affected by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit Central Visayas on October 15, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.

The Comelec has postponed the barangay elections in Bohol to November 25. The election period is set from October 26 to December 10, according to the resolution.

October 28 and 29 have been set as additional dates for the filing of candidacy certificates, while the campaign period will run from November 15 to 23.

Meanwhile, the last day of filing the election expenditure reports is on December 26, the resolution said.

The Comelec has also postponed the elections in Zamboanga City due to the recent attack on the city by the Moro National Liberation Front.

The rest of the country will hold the barangay elections on October 28. Around 54 million voters are expected to vote. — BM, GMA News