Manila: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is bracing for a significant increase in reports of vote buying and abuse of state resources (ASR) as the May 12 midterm elections approach. Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr., who leads the poll body's Committee on Kontra Bigay, has warned of a potential influx of illegal activity reports in the final days leading up to the elections.

According to Philippines News Agency, Commissioner Maceda highlighted during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing that they foresee a deluge of complaints concerning vote buying and ASR in the days ahead, with only ten days remaining before the election. He urged citizens to report such activities to Comelec via email at [email protected] or through their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/comelec.ph/. Maceda encouraged the public, saying, "Help us by being our bodycams... our eyes and ears. Together, let us get rid of these termites of the democracy -- vote buying and abuse of state resources."

The commission has already received 309 complaints related to vote buying and ASR activities. The region of Calabarzon has reported the highest number of incidents with 64, followed by Central Luzon with 54, the National Capital Region with 52, and both Mimaropa and the Bicol Region with 20 each. Maceda noted that many reported vote-buying activities involved the distribution of cash, assorted goods, or other valuable items.

Despite the current figure being lower than the 1,226 reports received during the May 2022 elections, Comelec is taking the issue seriously. The Committee on Kontra Bigay has issued show cause orders against 213 candidates and party-list groups as of April 30. Of these, 130 cases involved alleged vote buying or selling, while 67 pertained to ASRs.