
The Commission on Elections ruling disqualifying the barangay captain and seven kagawads of Barangay Marcelo, Calatrava in Negros Occidental for vote buying serves as a stern warning to candidates in the upcoming polls in May, Ian Lee Ananoria, provincial election supervisor, said on Friday, Jan. 3.
The Comelec headed by its chairperson George Erwin Garcia is serious about going after candidates who engage in vote buying, violators will be prosecuted, he said.
Any person found guilty of vote buying under the Omnibus Election Code (OED) shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years and shall not be subject to probation. In addition, the guilty party shall be sentenced to suffer disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage.
Ananoria said decisions on more vote buying cases involving candidates in the Oct. 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in Negros Occidental are expected to be released soon.
The Comelec 2nd Division recently disqualified the barangay captain and seven kagawads of Barangay Marcelo for vote buying in the 2023 BSKE polls, Ananoria said on Thursday.
Disqualified were Marcelo Barangay Captain Arnulfo Siblag Libodlibod and kagawads Eddy Gustaman Monterde, Joel Cabiles Rosello, Hernane Montaño Cabugwas, Jeremias Caballero Diotay, Elmor Taghoy Marcelo, Richard Garcia Diotay and Prescila Marcelo Patajo, a Comelec Facebook page post said.
The barangay officials have the option to file a motion for reconsideration before the Comelec en banc, and if denied before the Supreme Court, he said.*