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BSP. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas headquarters in Quezon City on May 31, 2023.
Jire Carreon/Rappler
Under the Philippines' anti-money laundering law, banks and financial institutions are required to report suspicious transactions, such as those that may be tied to vote buying or selling
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) urged banks and financial institutions to adopt enhanced surveillance and monitoring measures against vote buying.
In a memorandum issued on Sunday, March 23, the BSP instructed banks and financial institutions to implement measures countering the abuse of online banking and mobile wallets for vote buying and selling.
“The BSP memorandum, similar to memoranda issued in previous election cycles, responds to the call from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) through Resolution No. 11104, dated 28 January 2025, for stricter mechanisms against vote buying and selling,” the central bank wrote.
The BSP recommended mitigating vote buying and selling by enhancing customer onboarding processes, fraud management systems, as well as account and transaction monitoring settings.
The central bank also listed the following as possible red flags for vote buying and selling:
- Significant number of account registrations in an area where vote buying is known to be rampant
- Large cash transactions and/or encashment of checks during the election period
- Unusual transaction flows between bank accounts and digital wallets, including the frequency of transactions
- Unusual volume and/or value in cash-in or cash-out channels (i.e. agents)
Under the Philippines’ anti-money laundering law, banks and financial institutions are required to report suspicious transactions, such as those that may be tied to vote buying or selling.
The BSP is also working with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to address vote buying and selling transactions made via financial platforms.
Filipinos may report unlawful transactions to the following authorities:
PNP National Headquarters
pcrnsu@yahoo.com
(+632) 8723-0401 local 3696
National Bureau of Investigation
ccd@nbi.gov.ph
(+632) 8523-8231 to 38
In a memorandum issued on January 28, the Comelec urged its Kontra Bigay Committee to stop and prosecute those buying and selling votes, as well as those who abuse state resources. The latter is defined as “the misuse of government resources, whether material, human, coercive, regulatory, budgetary, media-related or legislative, for electoral advantage.”
Meanwhile, the poll body recently released the full list of 12 social aid programs exempted from the election spending ban beginning Friday, March 28.
– Rappler.com
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