TALAVERA, Nueva Ecija – Nearly halfway to the May 13 mid-term elections, charges of massive vote-buying marred campaigns between former allies who severed ties for the mayoralty position here.
Mayor Nerito Santos, who fielded his daughter Nerivi, against former partymate Vice Mayor Vince De Leon, said the latter has transformed a former palay-buying station (now a bank) into a “vote-buying station” where leaders and voters are given cash ranging from P200 to P500.
“Talagang talamak na yung pagbili ng boto rito at yan ay ginagawa ng kabilang partido,” Santos said.
But De Leon denied the charges, saying Santos could have been making early excuses for the imminent defeat of his daughter.
“Sino ba ang nagsimula ng pagbili ng boto noong 2004, noong 2007 at noong 2010? Tapos ngayon, sa sarili nilang multo ay natatakot sila,” De Leon said.
Santos belongs to the Joson-led Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija while De Leon is with the Liberal Party.
Santos described De Leon as a billionaire. “Kasi po sila, kaya nilang mamili ng boto kahit magkano kasi yung nasa kabilang partido, bilyunaryo,” he said.
The mayor said that a member of De Leon’s family was assigned to check if a resident is a registered voter before paying the amount. “Kung hindi, hindi bibigyan at paalisin,” he claimed.
The voters, he said were promised to receive more before election day.
Santos alleged that De Leon’s camp allegedly sent an emissary to offer P50,000 to P300,000 to village heads. “Isa sa kanila, ay inalok ng name your price,” he said. They included barangay captains Dante Ferrer, Danny Tayao and Joel Del Rosario of Bantug Hacienda, Bantug and Pinagpanaan, respectively.
De Leon said the charges are being made by Santos camp out of desperation over the outcome of their campaign.
“Wala silang maibato sa akin eh,” he said, saying he never used any government fund in his sustained medical mission and other social services activities in six years of his stint as vice mayor.
De Leon also belied using a former palay-buying station as vote-buying station: “Wala kaming palay-buying station, hindi ho kami bumibili ng palay. Yung ganitong mga salita, masyado pong obvious na pulitika.”
The family reportedly owns the bank, an agricultural supply, a gas station and franchise for a popular restaurant.
But De Leon maintained he does not believe that a village head can just sway voters to vote for a particular candidate.
“Kung meron akong ganun kalaking pera, bakit hindi ko na lang ibigay sa tao in the form of medical mission,” he said.
On the claims of village heads, De Leon said it was the village officials who recently approached him asking for cash in exchange of switch of support. The village heads allegedly told him they can no longer stomach campaigning with Santos.
He said: “Nasusuka na raw silang kasama si Nery Santos dahil puno abono daw ang ginagawa nila. Pati daw pang gasoline nila, inaabonohan pa nila, yung mga pagawain sa barangay, sila raw po ang nagpapagawa.”
“Sinabi ko ho sa kanya, kapitan, ako ay hindi naniniwala sa pagbili ng boto, kaya pasensiya ka na hindi kita mapagbibigyan. Sumama ho ang loob at tumakbo sa kabilang panig at gumawa ng istorya,” he added.
Confronted with the issue, Bro. Rondel Gutierrez, a local officer of the Church-based Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) who was present in a weekend conference with Santos and other non-government organizations, said his group has been into voters’ education campaign.
“Itinuturo namin sa mga botante ang tama at ang mali at ang dapat nilang gawin sa pagboto,” Gutierrez said.
Supt. Nicasio Malazzab, town police chief, said his office has yet to receive formal complaint regarding the issue. He said the police can only act in coordination with the local election office.
