Comelec Bicol issues over 40 show cause orders on alleged vote buying

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

A number of Facebook users are posting their excitement about the money that they will supposedly be receiving before the 2025 national and local elections

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Region V office has issued 44 show cause orders to candidates across the region for alleged vote-buying activities, as of Saturday, May 10.

As of writing, 27 show cause orders were issued in Catanduanes, making it the province with the highest number of alleged vote buying. Meanwhile, there were 15 in Camarines Sur, and 2 in Albay.

Comelec Bicol received 31 complaints in Catanduanes, 6 in Camarines Sur, 4 in Albay, 3 in Masbate, 1 in Sorsogon, and none in Camarines Norte.

The Comelec reminded voters that vote buying and vote selling are both election offenses that are punishable by law.

A number of Facebook users are posting their excitement about the money that they will supposedly be receiving before the 2025 national and local elections. Some of them are even guessing the amount that will be given in their respective provinces.

“Sing matud yan na sa Legazpi ah, makapairahay na barang ki harong (Make sure that amount said in Legazpi is true, so we can use it to fix our house),” a Facebook user from Legazpi City said in a shared post.

The original post stated the total amounts that voters from different cities in Albay will get from alleged vote-buying candidates. Legazpi City voters were expecting to receive a total amount of P20,000, according to the post.

Voters are so used to this kind of system during the election season that it already seems normal to them. Even though vote buying and vote selling may now seem normal, both of these are still election offenses.

According to Batas Pambansa 881 or the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, vote buying and vote selling are election offenses that are considered prohibited acts. 

Vote buying is defined in Article XXII, Section 261 as the act of giving or offering of money or anything of value to induce anyone or the public in general to vote for or against any candidate or withhold his vote in the election, or to vote for or against any aspirant for the nomination or choice of a candidate in a convention or similar selection process of a political party.

Meanwhile, a person who sells their vote is any person, association, corporation, group or community that solicits or receives, directly or indirectly, any expenditure or promise of any office or employment, public or private, for any of the foregoing considerations. 

Any person found guilty of any election offense shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years and shall not be subject to probation. In addition, the guilty party shall be sentenced to suffer disqualification from holding public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage.

Annie Romero-Cortez, assistant regional director of Comelec Region V, is urging voters to report incidents of vote buying through proper channels instead of posting them on social media.

If only pictures are sent to them as proof, corroborative evidence is still needed before they take an action.

She stressed that even before the start of the election season, the Comelec already conducted voter education programs about election offenses.

“Pre-registration pa lang, nag-eeducate na tayo ng voters — [kung] ano ‘yung dapat, ano ‘yung hindi dapat,” she added.

(Even during pre-registration, we’re already educating the voters — about what should be done and what shouldn’t be.)

Rosalyn Altea, a vegetable vendor and voter from Capantawan, Legazpi City, believes that the public should not trust candidates who resort to vote buying.

“Kapag nagbabakal ki boto, may expected na yan na return sainda (When someone buys votes, they already expect something in return from them),” Altea said. She also believes that people who sell their votes do not have trust in themselves to decide who is deserving of the position. 

Voters who will sell their votes are equally punishable as those who are buying their votes.

Three days before election day, Comelec Region V is still looking out for reports of vote-buying activities within Bicol. Election offenses in Bicol can be reported through Comelec’s hotlines — 09278358995 or 09615859258 — or by email at redo_region5@comelec.gov.ph. – Rappler.com

Hershey Juan is a third year journalism student from Bicol University. She is currently a Public Relations staff member of The Bicol Universitarian and an Aries Rufo Fellowship candidate from April-May 2025.