Dagupan police, Comelec probe suspected vote-buying
STOLEN COMELEC DATA USED
THE Dagupan City police and the Commission on Elections are investigating a reported systematic vote-buying at a local tire shop in Barangay Tambac on April 15 after traffic was at a standstill when the road was blocked by hundreds of people waiting for their turn to enter an establishment where cash and grocery items were reportedly being distributed.
The police and the Comelec rushed to the scene after a cameraman complained that his camera was confiscated by a guard of the establishment while taking a video footage of the traffic snarl and the crowd outside the establishment.
The cameraman from the City Information Office said he was following operatives of the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) who rushed to the scene to restore order and enable traffic to flow.
On order of Leni Basa, city information officer, the cameraman filed a complaint with the police, and the police promptly conducted an investigation into the seizure of the camera initially and to determine if there was vote-buying activity going on as reported.
The cameraman told newsmen that while he was recording the commotion when someone approached him, twisted his arm and seized his video camera. He was about to be dragged inside the establishment when he managed to free himself and ran.
However, when P/Lt. Colonel Jandale Sulit, city chief of police, and Dagupan City Elections Officer Michael Sarmiento themselves rushed to the scene, the establishments was already closed and the crowd has dispersed.
Initial investigation showed that the people queuing in front of Gajah Tunggal building were voters from Barangays Mamalingling and Salisay who were each allegedly holding a piece of paper from a computer printout with their names with certain numbers and a bar code.
The paper has the name of the voter and the data appeared to have been lifted from the Comelec files, it was learned.
The investigation further showed that the recipients of the “paper” were visited at their homes with the instruction that to proceed to a designated place to redeem their “gifts,” which turned out be cash and grocery items.
The report said it was the third alleged distribution of grocery items and cash the group identified with a political group.
Recipients of the “special paper” were ushered inside the designated place where their papers were routinely authenticated by the bar code reader.
The bar code subsequently revealed picture of the voter, his or her bio-metric and all the data entered in the Comelec files.
Many recalled that that it was the same modus employed by a provincial candidate in the 2016 election. (Leonardo Micua)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
