By Al S. Mendoza

 

WHAT is vote buying?

You give money to a voter in exchange for a vote.  That simple.

It is an election offense, of course.

Both the vote buyer and vote seller can be either fined or imprisoned.  Or both.

But it is hardest to prove if such sin is committed.

Who would ever admit to buying a vote, to selling a vote?

Have you ever seen someone getting prosecuted for vote buying?

I haven’t for the life of me.

Last Tuesday, Leni Robredo advised voters to accept money being offered by a candidate and next “vote according to your conscience.”

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez tweeted: “I disagree with the notion of taking the money and voting according to your conscience. Vote buying is an election offense regardless of financial situation or noble intentions.  No one should do that and it should not be suggested to voters.”

Did Leni make a mistake, Jimenez answered:  “I don’t think so.”

Why is that?

Leni, running for president on May 9, 2022, has told her supporters in Naga City that one may receive money offered by politicians because it could be taxpayer money, anyway—then vote based on one’s conscience.

When some netizens rebuked her, Leni said she had been taken out of context.

“I am against vote buying, but looking at realities on the ground, it happens,” she said. “Vote buying is definitely wrong, but as I always tell people, take the money, because that’s taxpayer money.”

The following day, Leni was back defending her statements amid more negative reactions from netizens.

“I do not condone vote buying,” she said, “but our eyes should be open to the realities on the ground, where law enforcement is lax and the chance of prosecution slim.”

She would cite her own experience, saying she filed vote-buying charges against the Villafuertes in 2013 when she ran—and won—for congressman.

The Villafuertes were then—and still are—the dominant political family in Camarines Sur.

“I had a lot of evidence that proved there was vote buying, but the case was dismissed by the prosecutor,” Leni said.

Going back to her vote-buying statement, Leni, a lawyer, said:  “What we should be doing is that even if there are people who accept bribes, they should not vote for the person as if they owe them something.”

She said that was the context of her remarks.

“What I am saying is that authorities should enforce the law well because the actual offenders in this crime go scot-free,” she said.

So what is vote buying again?

It happens but it is hardest to prove.

There is a law against it, but the law merely barks.  It doesn’t bite.  Not at all.

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