The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said that they will be using technology and social media to monitor candidates who will be committing violations like vote-buying.
In a press conference, Commissioner George Garcia said that evidence pointing to vote-buying can be spotted even if the money was sent digitally.
And with everyone carrying camera phones these days, illegal transactions can be easily recorded. Garcia also warned candidates who are spotted on social media holding raffles and distributing prizes.
However, the commission is aware that they can only slap offenses starting March 25, the beginning of the campaign period for local seats.
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COMELEC also encouraged political rivals to monitor each other and report any violations if there were any.
For the public who have evidence of election violations, the COMELEC said that they will recognize complaints filed to them via social media.
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“‘Yung mga kababayan natin na may credible na ebidensya, at mabigat na ebidensya patungkol sa vote-buying at iba pang violation, pwede niyo pong isulat agad ‘yan sa amin dito po sa aming Comelec law department at ‘yan po ay agad nating aaksiyunan,” the commissioner added.
The COMELEC has created a special task force that would help fight election fraud and vote-buying. The inter-agency task force will consist of members from the COMELEC, National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Information Agency.
Via: Inquirer.net