“It is a measure that intends to curb the practice of vote-buying by prohibiting the unjustifiable withdrawal of certain sums of money or the actual possession of certain amounts of cash in the period immediately preceding Election Day,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez told reporters on Sunday.
Also, he said: “This is a Comelec initiative… We hope to bring it up for consideration so that the legislature can craft a law that will achieve the same thing, perhaps operate along the same line.”
In 2013, the poll body moved to impose a money ban. But the Supreme Court junked Comelec Resolution No. 9688 that would have prohibited the withdrawal of over P100,000 per day as well as the transport of more than P500,000 during the span of six days until Election Day.
“It was declared unconstitutional simply because of the absence of legislation yet for it. It can be cured simply by someone crafting legislation. The SC has already said that it needs a law. Being declared unconstitutional does not mean legislation cannot be passed for that,” he added.
Jimenez assured the coordination of the commission with the legislators in coming up with a proposed measure.
“Our resolution is already a matter of public records. We believe it will be a good starting point (for lawmakers)… And if we get invited for a working group, we hope to discuss it further and see how we can improve it,” he said.
Vote-buying is defined by the Omnibus Election Code as “giving, offering or promising money or anything of value directly or indirectly, in order to induce anyone or the public in general to vote for or against any candidate”. — LBG, GMA News
