MANILA (ANN/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER) – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has received 63 reports of alleged vote-buying and abuse of state resources (ASR) ahead of the May 2025 elections.
Comelec’s Committee on Kontra Bigay (CKB) Commissioner-in-Charge Ferdinand Maceda Jr. said on Thursday that 36 and 32 cases of alleged vote-buying and ASR were reported, respectively.
“Most of the reports we receive primarily involve money; second are rice, goods, and groceries; third is the abuse of social assistance programs… Others include the use of government facilities, and closely following is the influence and use of government employees,” Maceda said in Filipino at a press conference.
Comelec has prohibited the presence of candidates, their families, staff, and even their political materials during the distribution of social assistance programs during the campaign period.
Maceda said a national candidate and three party-list groups are involved in the reports, while the rest are local officials. He did not disclose their identities.
He also said that once the CKB receives reports and deems the information and facts insufficient, it will refer the matter to the regional office where the reports originated.
The regional offices will then help with the case build-up. Maceda said that once the case is reverted to the CKB, the committee will assess whether a petition for disqualification will be filed against a candidate or whether the law department will file an election offense.
The CKB, launched last February 7, is tasked to enforce strict measures to combat vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources.
Vote-buying and vote-selling are considered election offenses under the Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code.
