We’ve always known vote buying happens in Philippine elections — whispered about, hidden in envelopes, disguised as “aid.” But now? Candidates aren’t even pretending anymore.

A recent viral video posted by Bombo Radyo Gensan and DYAR 765 SMNI Radio-Cebu showed two local candidates in Negros Oriental recklessly tossing P500 bills to a crowd during a campaign assembly.

The cringy footage reportedly of Siaton Mayor Fritz Diaz (a vice gubernatorial candidate) and Dauin Mayor Galicano Truita (the incumbent mayoral candidate) says a lot about the disgraceful state of Philippine politics.

People were seen scrambling to pick up the scattered P500 bills, sparking outrage and ridicule online. If this is not a glaring display of vulgar extravagance, what is?

Showering money on voters is just unethical — a practice that remains pervasive during elections despite being illegal under the Omnibus Election Code.

What makes this incident especially troubling is the way these candidates shamelessly flaunted their wealth — almost as if they were mocking the very people they claim to want to serve.

This behavior is all the more cringeworthy because it reinforces the toxic culture of political patronage, where politicians treat voters not as citizens with rights but as beggars to be bought off with petty cash.

Instead of presenting platforms, policies and their competence, these candidates resort to the oldest trick in the book: treating elections like a marketplace where votes are exchanged for short-term handouts.

What is even more disturbing is how normal this behavior has become. Many netizens reacted with amusement rather than indignation, some even defending the act as “helping the poor.” Since when did democracy become a game of who throws the most cash?

What happens to authentic leadership, accountability and solving problems? If all it takes to win is cash, not competence, then what does that say about our democracy?

The Comelec has repeatedly warned against vote-buying, but what good are warnings if no one is made to face the consequences? Unless election authorities start taking real action — like disqualifying candidates caught red-handed — these brazen displays will never stop.

Atty. Jeryl Respicio, a vice mayoral candidate in Isabela province, in a separate viral video, showed how automated counting machines can be hacked — yet officials seem more focused on dismissing any concerns than addressing them. Shouldn’t we demand transparency instead of blindly trusting the system?

Both Diaz and Truita are seasoned public officials. The fact that they’d pull this stunt so openly tells us this isn’t a one-off — it’s how they do business. And that’s precisely the problem.

It’s been four days since that embarrassing video went viral — and so far all we’ve heard from Comelec is silence.

Democracy should be about people and leaders who listen, serve, and answer to the public. But when elections get reduced to cash handouts and backroom deals, what we’re left with isn’t democracy. It’s all a hollow performance.

It should be clear that the money isn’t coming from their kindness; it’s the people’s taxes, from shady kickbacks and funds stacked by political machines that play dirtier than the rest.

Disqualify candidates caught buying votes. Prosecute those in the money trail. Until then, these shameless acts won’t stop, and our “democracy” will continue to be a pay-to-win farce.