Barangay bets warned vs using social services for votes

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday gave a stern warning to incumbent officials running in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) not to use the government’s social services to attract voters or face sanctions.

Izza Marie Laurio, assistant director of the DILG’s national barangay operations office, said the government’s social services such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and the Food Stamp Program are off limits in the elections.

“Let’s not misuse government benefits,” she said in Filipino during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant and Bar in Quezon City.

Laurio said vote selling and buying are not just monetary in nature, but also includes false promises.

“There will be appropriate sanctions against candidates who violate our election laws,” she said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged the public to report incidents of vote buying and vote selling in their communities.

If possible, PNP public information officer Col. Jean Fajardo said people could take photographs or videos of these violations.

“If you are able to observe incidents of vote buying or selling in your area, it would be great if you can document it,” she said.

The Valenzuela City government, meanwhile, cancelled two medical missions yesterday to avoid being perceived as influencing the conduct of the elections.

The activities were supposed to be held in Barangays Bignay and Mapulang Lupa.

The monitoring of possible vote-buying and selling through digital platforms remains a challenge during the BSKE campaign period, according to Laurio, who said the digitalization of transactions makes it harder for authorities to monitor possible election violations.

Still, she said they have dedicated field officers to monitor alleged unscrupulous activities of BSKE candidates.

“It’s a bit of a challenge because we’re very digitalized now. We leave it to our field officers to monitor election-related violations of the candidates,” she said.

DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos earlier warned that they will immediately enforce suspensions ordered by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) if winning