Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Nalzaro: On vote buying By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
I HAD a chance encounter the other day with Cebu City south district Rep. Antonio Cuenco in the coffee shop of an uptown hotel where he checked in during the Holy Week. We talked for a while about the ongoing electoral campaign and his concerns in his district, especially the strategy of his opponent, Jonathan “Atan” Guardo.
Tony admitted that from the start Guardo's strategy worried him because Atan reportedly offered thousands of pesos to barangay leaders just to get their support for his candidacy. Guardo has also allegedly offered P1,000 to every person who will vote for him come election day.
Cuenco claimed that Guardo has been throwing money left and right. This is supposedly the first time, Tony said, that this happened in his district, and perhaps the first time also in the history of Cebu City's elections.
“I agree with you Bobby that it looks like I was attacked by hornets,” Cuenco said, referring to what I said in my radio commentary nga mora siyag gi-ataki sa lampinig ug putyukan sa kampaniya Atan. This prompted Tony to buy newspaper spaces and radio spots that announced that his constituents in the south district are “not for sale.”
But we cannot also prevent Atan from using his huge financial resources to topple Tony. He is a newcomer and is the challenger and he knows that Cuenco is a very formidable opponent. Besides, that's his money. And who is buying votes and who is not? In the end, though, not only are politicians who buy votes to blame but also voters who sold those votes.
One of the manifestations of political corruption is when politicians bribe voters directly. It is however difficult to assess how widespread the practice has become. But vote buying has been there since elections were invented. And it is better than resorting to violence.
Vote buying involves many kinds of enticements like giving food and clothing or providing other public services aside from direct monetary considerations.
Didn’t Mayor Tomas Osmeña feed his supporters before? Wasn't that vote buying?
Though vote buying is prevalent in the country, it is difficult to assess its effect on election results since ballots are supposed to be cast in secret. Monetary consideration is not a guarantee that what is written on the ballot will favor the vote buyer.
To counter vote buying, one should just use the famous line of Serging Osmeña Jr.: Kan-on ang paon, iluwa ang taga. Dawaton ang kuwarta apan ang iboto mao ang maayong kandidato o kadtong naa sa imong konsensiya.
