THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has received 34 reports of alleged vote-buying and other election violations ahead of the May 12 midterm elections, Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr. said Tuesday.
Speaking at a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, Maceda detailed that 23 reports involved vote-buying and vote-selling, while 11 cases were related to the abuse of state resources.
“We started receiving reports even before the election period began,” Maceda said.
He noted that for the 2025 elections, the National Capital Region (NCR) would likely again have the highest number of vote-buying cases, based on past trends.
Maceda, who heads the Comelec-Committee on Kontra Bigay, cited the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) where Metro Manila recorded the most complaints. However, he questioned whether this was due to higher incidents of vote-buying or greater public awareness of electoral rights.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, vote-buying includes giving, offering, or promising money or anything of value to influence voting decisions.
In the 2022 national elections, Comelec logged 1,226 vote-buying complaints, while 375 cases were reported during the 2023 BSKE.
