PHARMALLY executive Rose Nono Lin and 16 others were charged yesterday with 237 counts of vote buying before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by residents of Novaliches and Barangay Bagbag in Quezon City.
In their complaint, the Koalisyong Novaleño Kontra Korapsyon and the Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan ng Bagbag accused Lin, who is seeking a congressional seat in the fifth district of Quezon City, of engaging in a series of vote buying activities supposedly carried out inside the three headquarters of the congressional aspirant.
Aside from Lin, also included in the complaint are her close associates in Barangay Sta. Lucia and Barangay Novaliches Proper, including barangay officials and private individuals “acting as co-conspirators, accomplices, and accessories”.
Lin is running under the Lakas – Christian Muslim Democrats party.
Lin’s camp said the complaint was part of a black propaganda campaign orchestrated by the opposite camp after the Pharmally executive topped recent poll surveys in the district.
It said it has yet to receive a copy of the formal complaint from the Comelec but alleged that the pictures presented as evidence were malicious and misleading.
“Even before the filing of Respondent Lin’s Certificate of Candidacy and beyond March 25, 2022, when the official local campaign period started, Respondents undertook a concerted and coordinated scheme to buy votes of tens of thousands of Novaleños. Even now, the vote-buying scheme continues in one of the many headquarters,” the complainants alleged.
“The brazenness of their vote-buying scheme is disgusting. And their vote-buying operations have become obvious for probably all Novaleños, so much so that the name ‘Rose Lin’ has become synonymous with a 500-peso bill inside a small cash envelope.
People would be seen lining up early in the morning in their gated headquarters, holding ‘stubs’ or ‘tickets’,” it added.
Based on the complaint, the respondents allegedly gave stubs or tickets to voters, including some of the complainants, telling voters to proceed to “payout” at the date, time, and venue indicated in the stubs or tickets.
The voters are then supposedly told to proceed to any of Lin’s headquarters, wherein “batches” are called per barangay, numbering around 350 to 500 people each.
The complainants alleged that people with stubs will then have their photos taken for an ID to be issued, with personal details to be asked before picture taking.
After the ID processing, they said voters were asked to sit and are made to watch a video presentation about the life of Lin via a projector.
“In several instances, we were told that Respondent Lin and/or one of their councilors also spoke before the crowd,” said the complainants.
After hours of waiting, they said the IDs will be released. Once called, the complainants said voters would walk inside a separate room, where the “paymaster” is waiting.
In the said room, they said a small brown envelope was handed to them containing P500.
“Based on their modus operandi, Respondents conspired and confederated to give money to thousands of Novaleños in daily payouts in one of their many headquarters,” the complaint said.
“The giving of money is done with the intent of inducing voters to vote for Respondent Lin, based on the accounts of their own barangay coordinators and speakers inside the headquarters,” it also said.
Lin is the corporate treasurer and an incorporator of Pharmally Biologicals Incorporated, the alleged sister company of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation, which cornered over P10 billion worth of pandemic contracts under the Duterte administration.
Lin also made waves on social media after her disclosure at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing that she was caught by surprise when she found a Lexus LX450D, which is reportedly worth P8.8 million, in her garage one day.
The Comelec assured swift action on cases of vote buying.
In a brief message, Elections Commissioner George Garcia said the complaint will undergo due process.
“We will correspondingly issue the subpoena to immediately proceed with the preliminary investigation. We will afford due process to all and we will not allow our judgement be swayed by publicity or popularism,” said Garcia. — With Ashzel Hachero
