By COOPER RESABAL
ON election week, residents of many barangays in the island province of Bohol usually greet each other with this question: “Is it raining over there? (Wa ba’y uwan-uwan diha?)”
They are not talking about the much-prayed for rain to water the dried-up rice fields. They are referring to the cash and goodies that political candidates distribute to villagers to ensure victory in the polls.
A campaign to stop the practice of vote-buying which became more rampant with the computerization of elections was launched last March 20 by the Diocesan Action Moving towards Good Governance (DAMGGO).
Bishop Patrick Parcon and Msgr. Alberto Uy of the Diocese of Talibon led the motorcade that was joined by parishioners riding in cars, vans and motorcycles from the municipality of Talibon to Trinidad and Ubay towns.
The practice of vote-buying usually takes place on the eve of the actual election day when trusted political leaders, most of them running as councilors, visit voters in their houses to get support for their candidates by topping the cash offer of their opponents. The locals describe the house calls as mangamang sa gabii (crawl in the night).
The going rate for local positions is from P 150 to P 500, depending on how close the contest is perceived in a particular area. Sometimes it’s a package deal for a whole family or household for as much as P 1,000 to P 5000.
The practice is considered “a necessary strategy” by political players even by those who do not subscribe to the practice of cash-for-votes, “to level the pl” If one of the candidates is buying votes, most likely, the others will do it too– sometimes upping the price of the vote, or just matching it, political analysts say.
The “shower” (uwan-uwan) was initially meant to just “affirm support” or vote, not necessarily to buy it, they add, but when the contest gets heated, “bidding comes into the picture.”
It is rampant, and almost nobody refuses cash or goods (groceries, rice, liquor) for votes. Some of those offered cash still vote for those whom they believe to be the right candidate, but they are the exception, random interviews revealed.
Almost always, the one who offered the bigger cash is voted into office, unless that candidate has no redeeming trait at all.
“It is ironic that while the people in the province are known to be pious and religious, many succumb to cash offers in exchange for their votes,” says a DAMGGO leader.
The campaign aims for “One Good Vote,” said Msgr. Uy, Vicar General of the diocese of Talibon, in a radio interview. “This (campaign) starts from our heart. It is best when we pray for discernment, and do not allow ourselves to be tempted by what the politicians offer,” he added.
Streamers and t-shirts of participants with the slogan: “Kon imo ming paliton, dili ka namo pilion! (If you try to buy our votes, we are not going to vote for you!).
“It is not easy to ask people not to sell their votes, especially the poor and deprived. But, even in extreme difficulty, the poor is capable of understanding what is right and wrong. We remain hopeful that with the help of God and the cooperation of good-willed citizens, we can change the face of politics in our diocese,” Msgr. Uy was quoted by Bohol Chronicle.
“If we become successful with God’s grace, we can prove to the Boholanos and the Filipinos that the electorate can do it once given the right education and inspiration to get rid of vote buying,” the church leader said. If effective, the diocesan- wide campaign, observers note, could affect some 450,000 voters in the towns under the Diocese of Talibon.
Msgr. Uy said it is “a good barometer” if some candidate without money wins.
The current elections, he said, “is not a fight among politicians, but a fight between good and evil…” He believes it is best not to receive the cash offered and to vote according to one’s conscience; but receiving the money and voting according to one’s conscience he considers a “lesser evil.”
Meanwhile Bishop Parcon explained to campaign organizers that “If we allow vote-buying to continue, graft and corruption will always be a big problem. Candidates who spend a lot of money during elections will most likely get their money back once they are in office…through graft and corruption.”
He contended that if vote-buying prevails, elections will become “a question of who is the highest bidder.” “The moral qualities and competence of candidates will be given less attention or no longer be considered at all. Qualified leaders who are poor will never get the interest to run for office. And who are we depriving of good leaders?” he told the media here.
The diocese has cited Comelec Resolution No. 9688 that orders the arrest of anyone or group who are caught in the act of buying and selling of votes during elections.
DAMGGO is an offshoot of the Jagna Movement for Good Government, organized in January 2013, when Msgr. Uy was parish priest of Jagna town. Its vision was “to change the mindset of Boholanos towards a clean, honest and peaceful election.”
Its spokesmen consider vote-buying and selling “a bad example to our young people” since it will make them think that it is normal to buy people or that there is no problem in giving one’s self in exchange for cash.
Bohol province has 48 municipalities, one component city, and 1,109 barangays. It has 757,144 registered voters, according to Lourdes Cempron of the Provincial Commission on Elections Office.
Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto is running for re-election under the Liberal Party against Loay Mayor Rosemarie Imboy of PDP-Laban. Representative Erico Aristotle Aumentado is running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition in the province’s second district.
Former Agriculture Secretary and Bohol Representative Art Yap is seeking re-election in the province’s third district under the NPC. He is opposed by former Carmen town mayor Conchita Toribio-de los Reyes under the PDP-Laban banner.
Representative Rene Relampagos is seeking reelection in the province’s first district under the Liberal Party.
In Tagbilaran City, Mayor John Geesnell Yap II of the Liberal Party is running for a second term. He is opposed by Arlene Karaan of the Partido ng Masang Pilipino and independent candidate Edgardo Kapirig.
Bohol COMELEC Supervisor Jerome Brillantes updated the towns placed under Election Watch List Areas as follows: Buenavista, Clarin, Danao, Inabanga, Bilar, Ubay and Antequera based on a compilation of violent incidents that were “politically motivated or election related” from previous elections.
Those listed as EWAS, reports here said, have a history of “intense political rivalry” and the alleged presence of private army groups of influential politicians in the past.
Comelec records revealed 104 mayoralty candidates for Bohol’s 47 towns and one city, and 103 bets for vice mayors. For city and town kagawads, there are 812 candidates.
Meanwhile, some 500 motorcycle riders of the newly organized Brothers on the Road (BROD) Riders recently witnessed local government candidates sign a peace agreement in Clarin town as part of the Unity Ride for Safe and Fair Elections, PIA-Bohol reported.
The Peace Covenant for Safe and Fair Elections 2016 was initiated by the Bohol Provincial Police Office, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Department of Interior and Local Government, Local Government Units and the various motorcycle riding clubs under BROD Bohol.
In the peace pact, local candidates in Clarin town “pledged to do their part in continuing to move toward upholding the integrity of the election process by refusing to be parties to vote-buying, election violence or any form of corruption,” the same source said.
Clarin had been among the designated Election Watch Areas in Bohol, based on the history of political violence in the past.
With the signed peace covenant, “I feel safer now,” Clarin mayor candidate Eugene Ibarra shared to PIA, even as he cited the authorities for keeping candidates and voters “in the right direction.”