Woman with P1.65M nabbed in Nueva Ecija amid election money ban

Authorities arrested a woman in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija for allegedly carrying P1.65 million in cash amid the election money ban, the Police Regional Office III (PRO3) said Sunday.

In a social media post, PRO 3 said the woman was caught Saturday at a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint in Barangay Poblacion West.

Upon inspection, authorities noticed a partially opened eco-bag containing the supposed cash in P1,000 bills.

Police said the suspect admitted the bag contained P1.65 million in cash.

She will be facing charges of violating Section 28 of Comelec Resolution No. 11104, which states that possessing, transporting or carrying over P500,000 in cash is prohibited and can be presumed as an attempt of vote-buying.

"Possessing, transporting and/ or carrying cash exceeding Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) or its equivalent in any foreign currency, along with campaign paraphernalia and / or corroborated evidence during the period of two (2) days before an election and on election day, except those authorized persons as stated in Section 28 of this Resolution," it said.

“Ang pagkakasabat ng malaking halaga ng salapi sa gitna ng election period ay seryosong bagay na hindi natin maaaring ipagsawalang-bahala. Mahigpit ang direktiba ng ating pamunuan na tiyakin ang integridad ng halalan—dapat itong maging patas, malinis, at ligtas,” PRO III director Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said.

(Carrying a large sum of money in the middle of an election period is a serious matter that we cannot ignore. Our leadership has a strict directive to ensure the integrity of the election—it must be fair, clean, and secure.)

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said that its Committee on Kontra Bigay received over 400 reports of vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources for Eleksyon 2025.

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.

Election Day is on Monday, May 12, 2025. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News