Comelec: Nearly 1,000 vote buying cases under investigation

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MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is investigating nearly 1,000 vote buying cases, Commissioner George Garcia said Monday.

Comelec has issued subpoenas to respondents to explain the supposed vote buying incidents, said Garcia.

“In the case of vote buying, we have almost 1,000 cases being investigated and we have several subpoenas issued too, requiring the respondents to explain,” he said on ANC’s Rundown.

Disqualification cases meanwhile are now up for resolution after the respondents lodge their answers.

“In the case of disqualification cases involving practically the same fraud and irregularities, the cases are now submitted for resolution after the respondents required to file their answer,” the commissioner said.

Investigations for other alleged cases of election fraud  are underway and the election body assured the public that it would be transparent with the cases.

“In the case of other fraud that you have mentioned, like for example, the presence of this garbage in one area in Cavite, and the data breach that happened, these are ongoing investigations but definitely, I can promise you, we will come up and we will be very open and transparent to reveal to the public what happened and transpired in these investigations,” Garcia said.

The Comelec earlier confirmed a data breach in the system of Smartmatic, its automated elections technology provider, but noted that the leaked information is not related to the polls.

Meanwhile, election paraphernalia were discovered improperly disposed of in a vacant lot in Amadeo, Cavite.

F2 Logistics, Comelec’s logistics partner, has yet to respond to the issue of improper disposal.

Moreover, Garcia said that they have not received any vote shaving complaints.

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