Dry spell may encourage vote-buying: bet

ONE of the candidates in the Liberal Party’s (LP) Senate ticket warned that a prolonged drought may encourage vote-buying in the May 10 elections.

Another said that if elected, she would file again the controversial Reproductive Health Bill, which failed to survive Congress.

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Senate aspirants Nereus Acosta and Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquiel were in Cebu over the weekend for the LP’s rally and a clutch of press conferences and meetings.

Acosta, who has a doctorate in political science from the University of Hawaii, said El Niño’s socioeconomic impact may include cheating in the May elections.

“I have a fear that the drought will increase the propensity for fraud and money politics in the upcoming election,” Acosta said.

“The drought will lead to hunger and desperation, thus making vote-buying a more viable option for candidates with resources.”

He urged the public to conserve at least 10 percent of their usual water consumption, as well as take better care of the environment, “the social security system of the vast majority of the poor.”

He called for vigilance in the country’s first automated elections, citing the threat of an unstable power supply—although poll and power industry officials have repeatedly
assured there will be sufficient power during the May elections.

Hontiveros, for her part, said she will re-file House Bill 5043 or the Reproductive Health Bill in the 15th Congress if she is elected to the Senate.

“Yes, I will re-file it and sana, by that time, it will make it to the amendment stage in Congress and eventually become law. It’s been pending for 18 years,” Baraquiel said.

The bill “provides for a national policy on reproductive health, responsible parenthood and population development.” It promotes information on and access to both natural and modern family planning methods, “which are medically safe and legally permissible.”

However, the Catholic Church strongly opposes the bill, saying it may encourage immoral behavior like abortion and sex outside the context of marriage.

Baraquiel, however, said the bill not only addresses overpopulation but also human rights, like the prevention of violence against women. Baraquiel is an incumbent congresswoman, representing the Akbayan party-list group.