As the May 2022 polls near, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has urged candidates to monitor each other and report their opponents’ possible violations of campaign rules such as vote-buying.

“Sa mga magkakalaban, maganda po ay mag-monitoran kayo, maganda po ay kayo mismo ang titingin, babantay doon sa mga kalaban niyo sa posisyon. Isumbong niyo sa amin at iyan po ay aaksyunan naming (To candidates, monitor each other, it will be great if you will be the ones to monitor your rivals. Report their illegal activities to us and we will act on it),” Comelec Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia said during a “Laging Handa” briefing on Monday, March 28.

He said the poll body is continuously monitoring candidates, warning them not to engage in any vote-buying activities.

Garcia said they will also go after politicians utilizing electronic money transfers such as G-Cash and PayMaya for their vote-buying activities.

Meanwhile, he said that the Task Force Kontra Daya will be formed this week.

It will be composed of personnel from Comelec, Department of Justice (DOJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Nito pong darating na Miyerkules ay atin na pong iko-constitute na at itinatalaga na ‘yung mga miyembro ng ating Task Force Kontra Daya natin. At iyan po siyempre ay pangungunahan ng Comelec (This coming Wednesday, we will appoint members of our Task Force Kontra Daya. This will be led by Comelec),” said Garcia.

Even though there is no complaint from citizens, he noted that the Task Force Kontra Daya has the power to conduct motu propio or automatic investigation on supposed vote-buying activities.

The formation of the task force against vote-buying seeks to show the public that the government is serious about stopping vote-buying activities, the poll commissioner said.

Garcia said the public may report vote-buying activities to the Task Force Kontra Daya by posting their proof of vote-buying activities on social media.

“Doon po sa mga reports niyo noong nakaraan sa social media, huwag po kayong mag-alala at hindi po kami bingi at bulag sa mga ganyang reyalidad (On the reports you earlier posted on social media, don’t worry because your reports did not fall on deaf ears as we are not blind on such realities),” he said.

“Hindi po natin babalewalain ‘yung mga akosasyon o alegasyon patungkol sa vote-buying (We will not ignore vote-buying accusations),” he added.