Vote buying, violence mar polls

REPORTS OF vote buying and election violence marred the long- delayed Barangay ( village) and Sangguniang Kabataan ( youth council) elections held Monday, May 14, but officials qualified the reports and said the incidence of violence was lower compared with previous elections.

Assessments on voter turnout also varied as of Monday afternoon’s press briefing by the agencies keeping watch on the polls, led by the Commission on Elections, together with the Philippine National Police ( PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP), Department of Interior and Local Government ( DILG), Department of Education ( DepEd), Department of Health ( DoH) and National Youth Commission ( NYC).

For his part PNP Chief Director- General Oscar D. Albayalde said the PNP “carefully tried to validate the vote buying.”

In its statement, the Interagency Council for Traffic (IACT) said it apprehended a total of 97 vehicles for various violations including the transportation of so- called flying voters.

“Five public utility jeepneys were captured and impounded on the spot. Two of the jeepneys even have “Comelec service” signage which, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), is illegal,” IACT said, adding it will submit a report to the Comelec.

ELECTION VIOLENCE

Mr. Albayalde, at Monday’s press conference at the Comelec headquarters in Manila, said the “confirmed deaths related to the elections” were lower compared with 2013.

In his update by Monday noon, PNP Spokesperson Supt. John C. Bulalacao said there were 47 incidents of election violence, with 35 killed and 27 wounded since the campaign began on April 14.

Of the 47 incidents, seven of those and 13 deaths were verified by the Comelec to be election-related.

Mr. Bulalacao noted the drop in such incidents, noting the 57 incidents of election violence in 2013. — reports by Camille A. Aguinaldo, Gillian M. Cortez, Minde Nyl R.

dela Cruz and Charmaine A. Tadalan