Alyansa fears massive vote-buying

Fearing massive vote-buying in the May elections, the Alyansa ng Pag-asa asked voters yesterday not to demean themselves by selling their votes.

Alyansa vice presidential bet Herminio Aquino said they foresee the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party engaging in massive vote-buying, citing the rate at which the party has allegedly been spending government funds to bankroll President Arroyo’s bid for a full six-year term.

"With about two weeks to go before the elections, we can see the massive and wanton disregard or lack of respect for the electorate. Never in the history of Philippine politics have we seen such massive use of government resources," he said.

Aquino said that if the party can indiscriminately use public funds for Mrs. Arroyo’s campaign, they would not be surprised if the money will also be spent to buy votes.

Alyansa, along with other political parties, has called on Mrs. Arroyo to relinquish her post to prevent the use of government funds in her campaign.

Alyansa, in its efforts to forestall this possibility, has asked voters not to allow themselves to be manipulated by any political party.

"The general question here is, ‘Pabibili ka ba (Are you willing to be bought)?’ That’s the question we ought to ask the public now," Aquino said during a campaign sortie in Quezon province.

Alyansa senatorial bet Edno Joson said it is an insult for a person to be offered money in exchange for his vote.

"It is important for us to take a stand against vote-buying because it’s not only votes that are for sale here. We are selling the future of our children," he said.

Joson warned that a candidate who buys votes becomes a corrupt government official because they have to get back the money they spent during the campaign.

"We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by those who use money just to win in the election. Don’t sell our votes. We should put a stop to this practice now," he said.

This developed as Aquino admitted that Alyansa standard-bearer Raul Roco may not be able to come home from the United States tomorrow as planned because of the time difference between Manila and Houston, Texas.

He said the Philippines is ahead by one day, and this means that confirmatory tests being performed on Roco will only be completed today at a hospital in Houston.

Roco left for the US on April 13 for chronic back pain, which reportedly was a symptom of prostate cancer.

"When we said the medical examinations were to be completed yesterday, our basis was the Philippine time. If we consider Texas time, the final tests will be done today," Aquino said.

He maintained that if the travel time from Texas will also be considered, Roco may arrive on April 28 as earlier scheduled.