By Chito Chavez
Charges of supposed vote-buying have marred the 17,163-strong Philippine Councilors League (PCL) election for national officers slated on February 27, prompting a Davao City-based candidate to file a complaint before the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) against his opponent.
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Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, official candidate of One Team One PCL for national chairman, alleged in his complaint that his rival has engaged in massive vote-buying.
President Duterte has handpicked Dayanghirang for the top PCL post.
In a complaint sent to DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano, Dayanghirang claimed that his rival deposited a manager’s check to the PCL bank account worth P7.1 million through a law firm supposedly to cover for the registration of 583 councilors for the PCL national election.
A copy of the check was attached to the complaint.
“The Philippine Councilors League (PCL), a prestigious institution of 17,163 councilors, on its 11th National Congress shall elect its new set of National Officers come February 27, 2020. The much-coveted position of the National Chairman is now put to compromise,’’ Dayanghirang said.
Dayanghirang said “the check is already a proof of blatant vote buying giving undue influence to the outcome of the supposedly independent exercise directly under the supervision of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)’’.
Stressing his point further, Dayanghirang said the councilors voting in the PCL elections were traveling under official business and the registration was chargeable under local government funds.
The Davao City councilor expressed grave concern that “the free will of councilors to vote should not be influenced nor tainted’’.
Amidst this controversy, Dayanghirang has remained “confident that these honorable councilors will vote based on the credentials of the candidates and the capability to lead’’.
Dayanghirang also remained firm that the councilors are “enlightened voters and will vote for the right person to the office’’.
He urged all the councilors to vote for the right candidate with credentials and with no derogatory record.