WITH the May 13, 2019 polls drawing near, Malacañang on Friday, May 3, called on the electorate to help the Duterte administration in its advocacy for a "peaceful, clean, and honest" elections.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reminded voters not to be swayed by intimidation of some poll candidates, as well as by the money offered to them to vote in favor of an election hopeful.

"We hope that all the agencies of the government, as well as the voters themselves and our countrymen will be alert and will contribute to the peaceful and clean and honest voting in the polls," the Palace official said in an interview.

"We'll have to let the people decide. That's the only time that everyone as a voter has the same power with the rest of the voters in the Philippines, whether they are rich or powerful, iisa lang ang boto ng Pilipino," he added.

Panelo's statement came more than a week before the scheduled local and national elections this coming May 13.

He lamented that some voters' lack of education makes them vulnerable to threats and intimidation.

"Alam po ninyo ang problema kasi talaga sa ating bayan, karamihan sa mga botante natin lack the educational requirements (The problem in our country is many of the voters lack the educational requirements)," Panelo said.

"'Pag kasi ang botante eh hindi na nga nakapag-aral, mahirap pa (If voters are uneducated and poor), they're open to many factors to change their votes. They're open to intimidation. They're open to threats. They're open to accepting money kasi nga mahirap (since they are poor), they're also open to choosing candidates na [hindi (not) deserving]," he added.

Poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting has claimed that incidents of vote buying have worsened this election year, noting that such cares arise in "hotly contested locations."

For the Commission on Elections (Comelec), it is 95 percent ready for the May 13 polls.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the poll body would have been 100 percent ready, but its efforts were thwarted by the damage to schools caused by recent powerful earthquakes in the country. (SunStar Philippines)