‘There is no stopping this cycle of fraud and harassment which the Comelec, it seems, has deliberately ignored…’
AS elections draw near, we are again faced with the upcoming and all-too-common scenarios of vote-buying and the ferrying of flying voters which have characterized the conduct of national and local elections in our country.
One of my students at a Manila university has admitted before her class that she has been taking part in vote-buying because her mother, who is a district leader of a city mayor (not from Manila) forced her to.
She said she would help organize and supervise so-called volunteers distributing cash and food items to barangays during the election campaign.
This was a class on Media Laws and Ethics where I tried persuading my students, through the exemplary lives of the great men of God, to embrace ethics and values and not be contented with class discussions.
More than the limited choice of political candidates, voters should have to go through a moral renewal of sorts to be fully grounded on uprightness and honesty that should directly guide their votes, and nothing else.
As we all know, countless cases of vote-buying have never been resolved by the Comelec or the courts. Innumerable sitting mayors and other city public officials had been the subject of vote-buying complaints in past national and local elections as reported in the news media. Many are known to be notorious for committing election fraud.
There is no stopping this cycle of fraud and harassment which the Comelec, it seems, has deliberately ignored and with most in the PNP looking the other way.
It is incumbent on President Bongbong Marcos to reign in partisan politics and address these issues to truly preserve the sanctity and integrity of the democratic exercise of selecting our national and local leaders. Political candidates themselves should lead by example and honestly refrain from exploiting the social and financial conditions of the voters through vote-buying.
The President should strive to move out of the shadow of doubt permeating the last national elections and ensure that all candidates abide by their constitutionally mandated commitment to free, honest and orderly elections in 2025. He should also remove any government or political hindrances against the genuine independence of elections watchdogs, such as NAMFREL and the PPCRV.
Many people have not forgotten the notorious “Garci boys” who are believed to be still working at the Comelec, with several of them transferred to regional branches of the poll body.
Shouldn’t the President order that they and former Commissioner Garcillano be criminally accountable for their roles in the alleged massive fraud during the 2004 national elections?
Criminal and administrative raps filed against them have been dropped or have virtually languished at the Comelec and in the courts.
In a large city in Metro Manila, the incumbent mayor and his close rival had exchanged accusations of bribery and vote-buying during the 2022 elections. At least two TV networks and four major radio stations carried testimonies of witnesses on accounts of actual vote-buying of the opposing camps. Two confrontations nearly led to a shooting incident.
The real awfully sad part is that popularity or winnability have replaced character and competence in choosing the right names on the ballots. Churches, universities and schools should be more vigorous in voters’ orientation and education programs specifically for the youth.
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Please allow me to add the following rejoinder to a passage that I lifted last week from Christian author Max Lucado’s book “Fearless.”
“And He does, God is great Giver. The great Provider. The Fount of every blessing.
Absolutely generous and utterly dependable. The resounding and recurring message of Scripture is clear: God owns it all. God hears it all. Trust him not stuff!”
