The Department of Justice and the Commission on Elections recently forged an agreement to fight vote buying and vote selling not only in the coming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections slated on 30 October but also in future polls.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia signed a memorandum of agreement against “Kontra Bigay” on Monday.
“We are making history,” said Remulla after the MoA signing, adding that they are strengthening the foundation of the country’s democracy.
“We are sending a clear message to every Filipino on the importance and sanctity that our votes should be protected,” Remulla said. “Our purpose is very simple, fight the widespread problem of vote buying and vote selling that destroy the integrity of the electoral process.”
“Under this MoA, we will together stand, talk, and help each other,” he added.
The DoJ chief stressed that the partnership’s aim is to ensure that those who commit election offenses will face the law.
“Combining the investigatory prowess of the Comelec and the prosecutorial power of the DoJ we aim to ensure those who committed election offenses shall face the full force of the law,” Remulla said.
Garcia, for his part, stressed that the only way to weed out and fight vote buying and vote selling is to prosecute and prosecute with firmness.
“If we have on our side the prosecutorial arm of the government led by the National Prosecution Service and the other agencies of the DoJ, we can ensure that no one will fear, and there will be focus and serious campaign against this new cancer of our democracy,” Garcia said.