Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas has denounced vote buying even calling it a "mark of the devil."
"Vote buying is a mark of the devil. It puts a price on the person of the voter. It is even worse when the vote buyer puts a price on their votes and tempts the poor," he said in a CBCP News post.
Villegas made the statement as he lamented vote buying has already started in the guise of giving “ayuda” (assistance).
“This is not early assistance. This is early corruption. They are working hard to bait poor people. It has begun,” he said.
“During elections, the poor are like fishes looking for food. But instead of feeding them, the politicians put out bait as vote buyers,” Villegas said. “They fed the poor, but they also hooked them.”
The prelate said vote buying destroys the heart of democracy and the people who make up the nation.
“When a fish is made boneless, it cannot grow anymore. It flails. Democracy flails if we don’t destroy vote buying,” Villegas said.