Navotas City Police Station (NCPS) operatives arrested a woman for alleged vote-buying during an activity related to the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) at a warehouse in Navotas City on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
NCPS said the woman is running for chairman of a barangay in Malabon City.
The suspect was caught distributing envelopes with money worth a total of P363,900 to individuals during a “watchers’ training” activity in a warehouse on Policarpio St. in M. Naval, Barangay San Jose, Navotas City.
Members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) - Navotas, Northern Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the NCPS launched the “Oplan Kontra Bigay” operation against the woman at the warehouse at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday .
Cortes said that according to the suspect , a “watchers’ training” activity for the BSKE on Monday, Oct. 30, for about 200 individuals was conducted at the warehouse.
Poll watchers or “watchers” were representatives of a political party or a candidate who were assigned in a polling station to observe and ensure that no illegal voting, fraudulent counting of votes and other violations happen on election day.
The 200 individuals were all registered voters in Malabon City, police said.
NCPS said that the suspect was arrested since money was involved in the activity related to the BSKE, which is prohibited under Comelec Resolution No.10946.
The resolution creates a committee on “Kontra Bigay” that ensures the enforcement of laws and regulations under the Omnibus Election Code which prohibits buying and selling of votes during election period.
The Comelec had earlier said that having multiple watchers per candidate during the election day may also be considered as vote-buying or selling.
The NCPS said the incident is still under investigation.
It added that after their investigation, the suspect may face charges for violation of the resolution.