‘This time, vote buyers should be arrested’

By JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondent .

CITY election officer Ramil Acol over the weekend warned against vote-buying and vote-selling, saying it is about time that those who engage in it are arrested and punished.

“This time, both the vote buyer and vote seller must be arrested,” said Acol.

The Commission on Elections here has asked law enforcers to help in stopping the vote-buying and -selling practice, pointing out that in the past elections, almost all candidates and voters were into it.

But Acol said he understands how difficult it is to enforce this election rule given the connivance between candidates and voters.

“Of course, police could only act or arrest those who are in the act of committing the crime,” he said.

Based on the Omnibus Election Code, violators can go to jail for one to six years, and erring candidates could be disqualified from holding public office.

Vigilance

On Friday, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez urged the electorate to be vigilant against erring candidates.

“If they don’t listen, I hope you lose, and I hope those who know how to respect the law will win,” said Jimenez, adding that voters should not support candidates with questionable actions.

“I think it’s time the public should stop being neutral about these people if you see bad behavior. If you see behavior that you would not approve of in someone that you know, why would you approve of that behavior in someone who presumes to be your leader? They should not ignore that,” Jimenez said.

He said voters should be more discerning in choosing candidates and let it show through their votes.

“Very importantly, we should not have double standard. It is because we are supporting a candidate, we will let him violate the law. A violation is a violation whoever committed it,” Jimenez said.

“If he is your candidate, being your cousin or your brother, you should be the one telling him that what he is doing is wrong, make an effort,” he added.

He also advised voters to look at the character of the aspirants, their background, and track record, among others.

“Let us look at the character of the one who is running, we should also look on what he had offered especially in the aspect of serving the people in your community,” he said.

“We should not only depend on how well we know the candidate, his family, or he was your schoolmate. I mean these are good things that we should probably consider, but these are not the only things,” added Jimenez, noting that “critical thinking is critical at this period.”

The campaign period officially started on Friday when candidates are allowed to promote themselves in the areas where they are seeking to be elected.

At the same time, he reminded the candidates that they are only allowed to spend P5 per voter.

The campaign period will run until May 12. (with reports from pna)