The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday that it has logged at least 23 cases of reported vote-buying and vote-selling nationwide ahead of the midterm elections.
The poll body also recorded 11 cases of abuse of state resources (ASR) as of 1 April, according to Comelec Commissioner Ernesto Maceda.
ASR refers to the misuse of government resources — whether material, human, coercive, regulatory, budgetary, media-related, or legislative — for electoral advantage.
“Bago pa man nag-umpisa ang election period, mayroon nang mga nagreklamo nito (Even before the start of the election period, there were already complaints about it),” Maceda said.
Maceda cited the viral incident of a party-list accused of vote-buying through a giveaway activity of three sedan cars during an event in Batangas in February.
“Mayroon din na bago pa man magsimula ang campaign sa local, sinusumbong na nila na nagkakabigayan na ng pera sa miting de avance (There was also one instance where even before the campaign period for local positions started, some already complained about candidates distributing money during a miting de avance),” he added.
Maceda noted that most of the complaints were reported from the National Capital Region.
“I don't know if there are more vote-buying incidents happening here or that the citizens are just more aware of the rights,” he added.
Other areas with high vote-buying and vote-selling incidences are Calabarzon, Palawan, Abra, and Camarines Sur.
“Maaari po sa 2025 current reports, dito pa rin sa NCR ang pinakamaram (Maybe this 2025, based on current reports, NCR still leads in vote-buying and vote-selling incidences),” he added.
There were 1,226 cases of vote-buying, vote-selling, and ASR during the 2022 national elections.