Resist vote buying, political dynasties, Filipino archbishop warns ahead of midterm elections

Ahead of the Philippine midterm elections on May 12, a Filipino prelate from the northern Philippines reminded Catholics to condemn vote buying and refrain from voting for candidates coming from so-called political dynasties.

In a pastoral statement, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that vote buying has become “systemic and ingrained” in the country, just like the stealing of government funds.

He lamented how rampant vote buying leads voters to ask politicians to pay them for their support and contributes to the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information.

“It is this culture of ‘election-time mendicancy’ that breeds vote buying and other forms of electoral fraud,” said the archbishop.

“Do not vote for those who give you money during the campaign,” urged the prelate. “They are insulting your dignity. By their money, they look down on you as ‘price-tagged objects.’ Resist and fight back by rejecting their names in the ballot.”

Villegas also warned against the practice of voting for more than one candidate coming from the same family.

“One is enough,” he said. “Do your heroic share to end political dynasties that continue to cripple our democracy.”

The prelate said that the Philippine Constitution provides that public office should “be open to all who are qualified and who seek it” and “not sequestered by one family or one clan.”

He also encouraged the faithful to avoid reelecting candidates “who have done nothing in their term” and reminded them to “critically check” their track records instead of solely relying on their own declarations.

In addition, Villegas reminded voters to stop supporting political underdogs who seek “votes of sympathy” or those who “quietly evade” discussions about Chinese intimidation in the West Philippine Sea.

Furthermore, he advised against voting for candidates who mock God and ridicule religious worship, as well as those who use hate speech to manipulate the people.

When it comes to who should be elected, Villegas said that it must go to those who “live honestly, not opulently” and individuals who “love sincerely… and take up the causes of the weakest members of our society.”

According to the Philippines’ Commission on Elections (COMELEC), around 69 million Filipinos are expected to flock to the polls in May to vote for seats in the Senate, Congress, and local government units.