The Department of Justice Action Centers (DOJAC) are open on election day on Monday, May 9, to receive and act on complaints on vote-buying and other election-related cases.
Aside from the main office in Manila, the DOJ has DOJACs in Palayan City in Nueva Ecija, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, Cebu City, and San Fernando City in La Union.
In a public notice through a social media post, DOJAC urged voters to “report vote-buying, vote selling, other violations of election laws, and other concerns.”
DOJAC was set up in 1985 “to provide assistance and speed up actions on the concerns of the people especially those from the marginalized sectors of our society.”
“DOJAC attends to and acts upon written, phone in and walk in requests for legal assistance by the ordinary Filipino especially on pending transactions with different agencies of the government.” Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said.
“DOJAC has also expanded its services to provide mediation for disputants to resolve conflicts before they escalate further,” he added.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had created the multi-agency Task Force Kontra Bigay that will investigate and run after those involved in vote-buying.
The task force is headed by Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino and includes as members the DOJ, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
Last month, Guevarra expressed the DOJ’s commitment to help the Comelec in the fight against vote-buying