Comelec issues resolution on warrantless arrest of vote-buyers, sellers

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has issued a resolution allowing law enforcement to arrest vote buyers and sellers without a warrant if they are caught in the act.

According to Sandra Aguinaldo's report on "24 Oras," Resolution No. 11104 will expand the authority of the poll body's Committee on Kontra-Bigay” to monitor vote buying and selling in Eleksyon 2025. 

The resolution allows a law enforcer to make a warrantless arrest if he or she witnessed an act or attempt to commit election offenses. 

“Any law enforcement officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person when, in his or her presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit the election offense of vote-buying and vote-selling or act constituting ASR (abuse of state resources),” the resolution read. 

The arrested individual will be brought to the nearest police station. 

Meanwhile, the materials used in vote buying or selling will be under the custody of the police. 

“The money or any other goods of value, sample ballots and any other campaign materials used for vote-buying and vote-selling, and ASR, shall be immediately seized and taken into custody by the apprehending law enforcement officer,” the resolution added. 

Ballots 

On the other hand, the poll body has already printed nine million ballots within a week. But it said that it would tap 250 more verifier machines on top of 800 verifiers to check defects on the printed ballots. 

“Mano-mano yung pag-verify. As of noong Sabado, sa 500 na makina para sa machine verification, 250 pa lang ang na nagagamit. So yung 250 plano gamitin mula ngayong araw onwards,” said COMELEC chairperson George Garcia. 

(We are manually doing the verification. As of Saturday, of the 500 verification machines, 250 were being used. So we are planning to use the 250 other machines starting today onwards.) 

COMELEC is also considering taking a larger space at the National Irrigation Administration’s headquarters and in Amoranto Sports Complex as venues for the verification of the ballots. 

Further, the poll body has requested President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to appoint new commissioners based on the current roster of officials in COMELEC following the retirement of Commissioners Soccorro Inting and Marlon Casquejo. 

“Ang ginagarantiya ko naman sa inyo, kahit tayo ay natalaga ng present administration, siguro naman napapatunayan natin yung impartiality natin,” said Garcia. 

(I can guarantee to you that even though I was appointed by the present administration, we were able to prove our impartiality.)  –Vince Ferreras/NB, GMA Integrated News

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