Bishop Tells Public To Accept Vote Buying Cash But Not Vote Candidate
BISHOP ON VOTE BUYING – Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas told the public they are not required to vote for the candidate they accept cash from during the election campaigns.
According to an article from Inquirer, Villegas said: “You are not obliged to fulfill an immoral or illegal contract”. Similarly, Vice President Leni Robredo also shared the sentiment in an earlier statement.
Although, Villegas emphasized that selling votes is a sin and is against the law. But, he noted that if you are hungry and in need of the money, then you can take the cash.
However, he noted that you cannot fulfill what you were told to do.
“Pwede mong tanggapin ang pera pero hindi dahil nangangako ka na tutuparin mo ang usapan, kundi dahil mayroon kang matinding pangangailangan, para sa iyo at sa iyong pamilya”
Previously, Robredo was criticized for her statement on vote-buying. She said that voters can take money from approaching politicians. Furthermore, she even says that those are the taxpayer’s money in the first place.
However, she stressed that voters still need to vote based on their conscience. Additionally, Robredo said that she does not promote vote-buying but instead, points out the “realities on the ground”.
Vote-buying remains rampant in the Philippines. When it comes to elections, vote-buying is almost synonymous with campaigns. This, despite the direct violation of the Omnibus Election Code.
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