PRO-7 to take complaints vs. vote-buying seriously

CEBU CITY – In support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to have a clean mid-term election on Monday (May 13), the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Central Visayas on Friday said it will take citizen’s complaints against vote buying and vote selling seriously.

Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, regional director of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 (Central Visayas), issued a warning to politicians who will resort to influencing the outcome of the mid-term polls through vote buying, that the police will press charges if they will get caught buying votes.

The campaign against vote buying and vote selling will become successful only if the citizens will cooperate with the police, said Sinas in a press briefing at the PRO-7 headquarters in Camp Sergio Osmeña Sr. here.

“If karon magreklamo ka naay vote buying (If you complain now that there’s vote buying), you have to present facts and evidence and you should tell who’s doing it),” he said.

The charges of vote buying will only prosper if somebody would provide formal statement and file a case, he said.

“Di puede magreklamo may vote buying unya di mo-estorya kinsa, kay kung puro nalang reklamo, mahurot among oras ka-verify tapos wa na kami maabtan didto (It’s not acceptable if one would just complain that there’s vote buying but won’t tell who, because if all are just tales, the police would waste time verifying but would find nothing there),” Sinas said.

The police in the region is active in informing both the candidates and electorate of the intention of President Duterte to have an election that cannot be influenced by money.

Last May 1, the Bohol Provincial Police Office headed by Col. Juluis Cesar Gornez participated in a province-wide caravan to educate the Boholanos about the President’s wish that vote buying and vote selling would be lessened, if not totally eradicated.

Sinas also said they will strictly enforce ordinances such as curfew and anti-vagrancy in order to avoid “groupings” on the eve of elections for the purpose of collecting money from politicians.

Sinas said motorcycles-for-hire in the Poblacion or city center up to the mountain barangays will also be subjected to strict inspections at police checkpoints to prevent them from being used as distributors of money for vote buying.

Public vehicles that are out of bound will also be checked to avoid ferrying of voters, he said.

The PRO-7 chief, however, discouraged citizen’s arrest against a person who will get caught buying votes, in order to avoid trouble.

“Citizen’s arrest depends on the situation. You may arrest (those who will be involved in vote buying), but you still have to bring him to the police station,” he said.