Elections watchdog Kontra Daya has accused several party-list groups of resorting to vote-buying in the upcoming polls to gain a seat in Congress.
"Ilan sa kanila talagang ang objective lang nila, mamili ng mga boto kasi ito yung isa sa mga cheap na paraan, kung cheap mang matatawag, para makakuha ng upuan sa Kongreso," Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao, without mentioning specific groups, told DZRH in an interview.
(Some of them their objective is to buy votes because this is one of the cheap ways, if you can call it cheap, to get a seat in Congress.)
According to Arao, this is because party-list groups may not need half a million votes to get elected to Congress.
"So with a voter base of around 300,000 votes, nakakaya mo na eh, malaki ang posibilidad na makakakuha ka ng isang upuan sa Kongreso," he said.
(So with a vote base of around 300,000 votes, they can do it, there is a huge possibility that they will get a seat in Congress.)
Numerous allegations of vote-buying at the national and local levels have circulated on social media since the start of the campaign period.
To address the growing number of complaints, the Commission on Elections said it will establish an inter-agency task force.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra then announced that the composite team will be from the National Prosecution Service, National Bureau of Investigation, the Public Attorney's Office, and the Department of Justice action center.
Guevarra, ahead of the task force's establishment, already assured the public that they will immediately take action against complaints of vote-buying.
