EDITORIAL - Vote buy-and-sell

Vote buying is seen to be so widespread all over the country that even the Commission on Elections itself is urging the public to be extra vigilant beginning today. Comelec officials have said vote buying is most rampant in the final days before election day.

Beyond vigilance, the Comelec is hoping that people will have the civic responsibility to document cases of vote buying. The Comelec is working with the Philippine National Police in its “Kontra Bigay” campaign against vote buying, so that people can alert the PNP about possible violations.

In turn, the Comelec must show that such reports are acted upon with dispatch. Documenting wrongdoing has been facilitated by digital technology. These digital recordings should help in the prosecution and punishment of offenders.

When an illegal activity is so widespread, stopping it cannot be done by the Comelec alone, or even with its partnerships with other government agencies. Citizen involvement is needed to minimize if not completely eradicate the buy-and-sell of votes. This is one of the worst forms of poll fraud, undermining the spirit of representative democracy.

The Comelec must also remind its partners in the banking community about their role in stopping vote buying and other financial offenses.

Last March, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued a memorandum to BSP-supervised financial institutions or BSFIs to strengthen their surveillance and monitoring systems against vote buying, particularly through digital channels such as e-wallet applications and online banking.

The BSP memorandum was quite specific on the red flags that must be monitored by the BSFIs. These include unusual transaction patterns, a surge in account registrations in areas notorious for vote buying or selling, large cash transactions during the election period, and a high volume or value in cash-in or cash-out channels.

So far, there has been no possible case of vote buying reported by the BSFIs. It would be unfortunate if this is because the BSFIs are unable or unwilling to carry out the order of the Bangko Sentral.

Vigilant citizens might have a better chance of stopping illegal campaign practices. Everyone can contribute to ensuring clean and fair elections. Possible cases of vote buy-and-sell and even financial fraud can be reported to the PNP at [email protected] and (+632) 8723-0401 local 3696, or to the National Bureau of Investigation at [email protected] at (+632) 8523-8231 to 38.