The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has identified Metro Manila and Region IV-A as the primary hotspots for vote-buying ahead of the 2025 elections, with reports of cash and digital transactions being used to influence voters.
“Well, historically or let’s just use the BSKE ‘no, ang NCR lagi ang parang sentro ng vote-buying – I don’t know if that’s because there are more vote-buying incidents happening here or that the citizens are just more aware of their rights at mas masumbong ang mga (tao),” COMELEC Commissioner Ernesto Maceda said in a recent press briefing.
“But after NCR, nandiyan ang Region IV-A which is really Mega Manila kung ituturing iyan. But from the province let’s just do top five: Palawan; Abra; Camarines Sur. Maaaring ngayon ho sa 2025 current reports, dito pa rin sa NCR ang pinakamarami,” he added.
Maceda said Comelec has received 34 reports related to election violations as of April 1. Twenty-three of which are linked to vote-buying and vote-selling and 11 concerning the abuse of state resources.
During the 2022 national elections, Comelec recorded 1,226 reports of vote-buying, while the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections saw 375 complaints.
Maceda said Comelec has been working with mobile banking and e-wallet companies such as GCash and Maya to curb digital vote-buying.
He also noted that the transaction caps was set at around P5,000 to P10,000 during the 2023 barangay elections.
“GCash and Maya […] have been partnering with us since 2023 BSKE. And those who are really concentration or focusing on this, alam nila na naglabas ang GCash ng advisory na maglalagay sila ng transaction limits,” he said.
Maceda likewise thanked Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas for releasing a memorandum circular, reminding these financial institutions and banks to strengthen their efforts against fraud in onboarding.
The commissioner also said that COMELEC continues to monitor and investigate reports while urging the public to report any vote-buying activities through official channels. (TCSP)
