One of the mayoralty bets at a town in a city used a
ticket stub with a security feature to avoid its fabrication by her opponent
that could sabotage her electoral stocks.
The two inches by two inches’ stub has a combination of
blue, green, and brown stripes, a bar code, and the name of the voter taken
from the master's list of the Commission on Election.
The security men of the candidate who checked the queue
of roughly three thousand voters in a village at the main entrance of huge
warehouse owned by the family of this bet used ultra violet light (UVL) scanner
to check their authenticity.
“The light of the pen determines if this is not fake
if there is a brown square that will appear when the light hits the blue and
green stripes,” a portly security aide of the re-elective Mayor explained
the tiny square that appeared at the blue stripe of the stub.
Among the “detained” voters, who composed most of the
electorates in a village, who would be receiving P1,500 each with the condition
to vote for the mayor, vice mayor, and the congressman were 30 men and women
caught possessing the fake stubs.
“Nanggaling pa iyan sila sa karatig bayan,” another
supporter of the mayor butted - in when someone asked where these people came
from.
The aide could not
determine if those spurious stubs were commissioned by the rival candidate to
wreak havoc to their bribe attempt or they were just enterprising individuals
who copied the ticket after the leader of the candidate distributed them around
the village a day before.
Inciting to Anger the Voters of a
Rival Candidate
It can be recalled an incident in the 2007 election when
a challenger in the district ran against the sitting congressman
When a supporter of the former told him at this office
the solon would be distributing wads of P500 and P1,000 bills for hundreds of
voters at a village, he told the man to go immediately to the printing press
owned by an ally with a thick reading glasses to forge the stubs.
“Magpagawa ka ng mga isanlibo at ibigay mo doon sa
kabilang barangay. Kopyahin mo iyong araw at oras ng bigayan”
The challenger, known for his shrewdness, wanted to
disappoint and anger the recipient voters who would wait there until kingdom
come without the monies that never arrived. That hoax would benefit the
challenger as they would vote him.
During the 2019 election in Dagupan City, voters
who line up as they wait to vote in a public high school complained to this
writer that a leader of a mayoralty bet gave only P3,000 in a household
composed of five voters. “Hindi namin binoto iyong kandidato. Masama ang
loob namin kasi sa kabilang barangay ang bigayan ay P3,000 kada isa bakit dito
kada bahay”.
One of the smarting voters computed that if the leader of
the candidate did not give P3,000 to each of the 100 voters, he was P300,000
richer where he could pay the down payment of a brand new car. Many of these
leaders have been seen riding in new mini cars and motorcycles that they
probably bought in installment basis for the four-wheel and cash for the
two-wheel using the monies they stole from their patron. After the election
many of the leaders like these around the country were either shot to death or
mauled by the thugs of the politicians.
Distribution of the Monies to the
Voters
But with the advent of technology and the efficient bar
coded stub distribution, that antics could no longer be used to exchange them
with bills inside the envelop or bag of groceries composed of kilos of rice,
dozens of canned goods, noodles, and packs of coffee in case these bogus voters
penetrate the queue, occupied a seat inside the warehouse as the congressman,
mayor, his vice mayor, and their slate do their stumps. Their declamations,
dances, corny jokes, and other antics have been backed up by huge video screen
to illustrate their personal credentials, achievements, and accomplishment.
“Pagkatapos niyan kaming mga security details ay
edi-divide namin sila sa dalawang lines palabas doon sa exit sa likod,” the
aide explained
As they slowly egress, the candidates wait for them
shaking their hands and tapping their shoulders with some quips soliciting
support and small talks.
“Iyong mga tao namin doon kukunin ang stubs habang
iyong katabi ay magbibigay ng tatlong sobre at sasabihin na iyong isa kay
mayor, iyong isa kay vice mayor, iyong last kay congressman”.
Each inside the white envelopes were the bills and decals
about the member of the slate and their credentials and accomplishment.
Some supporters of the candidates gave calendars, tee
shirts, and other paraphernalia like sample ballots, too.
“Lahat ng barangay dito ay naka schedule one week bago
mag election lahat sila bibigyan kung ano ang binigay sa mga voters dito”.
The security man said that a week before the May 13, 2019
election the dole outs would become bigger as the candidate wanted to make
sure he wins the poll and neutralized the bloc voting Iglesia ni Cristo Church
that endorsed the other camp.
The local government unit, where these two rich mayorship
rivals flood with monies and goods, has more or less 100, 000 voters.
The gubernatorial bet did not join the vote buying as he
had his own men to do the distribution the old way.
"Bahay bahay iyong sa kanya. Hindi na sumali kasi nahihiya two hundred
pesos lang ang kayang pambili ng boto kada ulo" the source cited.
