By Roel Amazona/ PNA
TACLOBAN CITY — Top leaders of the Catholic Church in Eastern Visayas asked local candidates and voters to help ensure peaceful and orderly May 2019 mid-term elections.
Both Palo Archbishop John Du and Borongan Bishop Crispin Varquez asked politicians and voters not to engage into vote selling and vote buying and uphold and respect the sanctity of their votes.
“Voting is a basic right of every Filipino guaranteed under the Constitution and as Christians, it is our moral obligation to choose the right person who will serve their position well,” Du said in an interview Tuesday.
He also urged aspirants not to resort to the use of money and violence to coerce voters just to win the electoral practice.
“I pray that this will be an honest and clean election,” Du added.
During the village and youth council election last year, rampant vote buying was reported but no one had filed a complaint or had presented any evidence against individuals or the political parties involved.
Based on reports, vote buying in the six provinces of Eastern Visayas ranges from PHP20 to PHP3,000 per voter, depending on the position of the candidate.
The highest rate was in the impoverished town of Matuguinao, Samar, where each voter allegedly received PHP3,000 from village chief candidates and PHP100 from council member aspirants.
In a video message, Varquez has expressed alarmed at the “distorted value” of people in the present time.
This distorted value is present during election period, where people, instead of looking for candidates who are qualified in the position would resort to selling their votes and those who are running would buy votes.
“This has become normal, but this is wrong and unethical. The election is about choosing and not about buying,” Varquez pointed out.
The church leader added that if the practice of vote buying continues, the change of governance and dream of development that the people aspire for will not come, but rather their situation will continue to remain the same because they chose the wrong person to lead them.
“Nothing good happens to us and to Filipinos,” Varquez said. “It’s now time to change, decide for a change. This coming election let us vote for the best candidate. Do not accept money, don’t sell your vote.”
“Let us stand against systemic corruption and do what is right,” Varquez added.
He explained that in choosing candidates, voters should decide for the sake of the country and for the future generation.
Vote buying and vote selling are illegal in the Philippine and punishable under the Omnibus Election Code.
Vote buying under Section 261 is described as someone who pays or promises to pay money or give anything of value to a voter or group of voters in exchange for their votes, while vote selling is described as receiving money in exchange of their votes.
In Section 263 and 264 of the Election Code, these acts are punishable for being criminal offense and carry prison terms of not less one year but not more than six years; disqualification from holding public office and deprivation of their right to vote.
