By COOPER RESABAL
MARIBOJOC, Bohol—The shower of cash for votes came early in May in the island province of Bohol, ahead of Monday’s polls both for the country and the province’s executive positions.
“I was just standing in the purok hut here (barangay Toril) when men in a motorcycle stopped and distributed some cash from P20 to P50 for some provincial candidates, and I got my first ‘uwan-uwan (shower of cash),’” says a woman in her fifties who refused to be named. This was on Saturday, two days before election day.
But the usual way is “house delivery” of cash to intended voters, complete with a list of the candidates to vote for, by a trusted campaign leader of political parties in the village. The cash ranged from P20 to P620 (for a straight ticket) here, up to P750 to P 950, local sources admit.
“They have no choice, but to distribute the cash since the other parties are doing it,” one bemoaned.
“I just took them (cash), detached the stapled names of candidates, and will vote according to who my conscience tells me to vote for, like what Father told us to do,” said a grandmother in her late 40s.
Aside from “uwan-uwan,” the shower of cash has gained new euphemisms, like “inangayan” or “share of the loot,” or “pahinungod” or offering in Boholano/Cebuano language. Others call it “pahabol” or takeaway.
The rates vary, depending on how closely contested the positions are IN particular towns. In a random canvas made by radio station DYRD on election eve in their program Tagbilaran by Night, the cash for votes ranged from P750 each side “rumble for kagawad” in Loay town to a whopping P2,000 each in Panglao town.
The bidding can go as high as P 1,500 to P 5,000 for a household of voters in some towns. The “pahabol” in Clarin could reach from P1,000 to P1,300, one caller from barangay Lahug there said.
In Bilar town, one caller described the situation as “mingaw” (quiet or sad) because few men in motorcycles were seen this time, and those who came offered only P100. In Buenavista town, the rate is from P250 to P700, while in Getafe town, it was reportedly P 450 per voter.
The vote-buying took place even as international election observers from the United States, Germany, Sweden and Japan arrived in the province to monitor the conduct and result of the election here.
In a press conference in Quezon City over the weekend, the Compact of Peaceful and Democratic Elections (COMPACT) launched its 2016 International Observers Mission in an effort to ensure free, peaceful and fair elections in the country.
The group is part of “a consortium of non-government and civil society organizations that seeks to address the growing incidence of election-related violence allegedly committed by both state and non-state actors,” reports said.
Besides Bohol, the group sent observers to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Dinagat Islands and Santiago, Isabela.
“We chose these areas because they have the following factors, which are the history of election-related violence and fraud, presence of political clans, warlords and private armies, and presence of capable local civil groups doing election monitoring. We tried to select areas which we believe will give our observers a picture of the real issues and conditions we grapple with during elections,” Arnold Tarrobago, COMPACT National Coordinator, said.
He was reported to have said that the delegates are also interested in monitoring “iconic electoral battles” or electoral races widely perceived by many as contests between those that proclaim to be on the side of reforms and those that are allegedly associated with traditional and patronage politics.
“The international observers will stay for four days, including election day, in their respective areas of deployment. After the elections, they will return to Manila for a comprehensive presentation of their observations and recommendations to the public and concerned government agencies, as well as the diplomatic corps,” media reports said.
