(From left) Comelec Executive Director Teopisto Elnas Jr., Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia, NBI Director Jaime Santiago, and NBI Deputy Director for Operations Antonio Pagatpat lead the signing of the memorandum of agreement between the Comelec and NBI on Friday, December 20, 2024, at the NBI Office, Filinvest Cyberspace, Pasay City. —Photo by Dianne Sampang | INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday vowed to participate in ensuring a “clean, honest, and peaceful” 2025 elections by cracking down on vote-buying and election-related cybercrimes.
During the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the NBI and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), NBI Director Jaime Santiago said both agencies would work “hand in hand” to fight poll-related crimes
“We assure the Comelec, and the Filipino people that the NBI will always serve the Filipino people by assuring that there will be an honest, orderly, and peaceful elections this coming May 2025,” Santiago said in his speech.
Further, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that the collaboration would be a good start to strengthen their campaign against cybercrimes, especially at the onset of the campaign period for the 2025 elections.
“To be honest, we need help, especially from the NBI. The upcoming elections face many challenges that the Comelec need to overcome, like cybersecurity concern,” Garcia said in Filipino in his speech.
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“If the issue is cybercrime, violation of rights in cyberspace, the NBI and other law enforcement agencies are in charge. The authority of the Comelec only becomes effective on January 12, or the start of the election period,” he added.
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Using digital wallet apps
Santiago said that they have discovered new ways of vote-buying through digital wallet applications. Garcia said that they started a crackdown on digital vote-buying during the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections when 253 aspirants were barred from holding office.
“That’s when the expertise of our cybercrime division comes into play because once we monitor that, expect that there will be clean and honest elections,” Santiago said.
Garcia pointed out that they were expecting politicians to revert to the traditional mode of vote-buying. The two chiefs then said that active participation of citizens in reporting vote-buying incidents would be important.
READ: EXPLAINER: Vote-buying, selling
Santiago then said that they had already set measures to apprehend those who would engage in vote-buying.
“For the traditional vote-buying, we ask help from the citizens to report… If many people are going to a house where something is distributed, we will monitor that… Just report it and the rest will be up to us. I will not divulge what the actions are because they will know,” Santiago said.
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According to Article 12 of the Omnibus Election Code, vote-buying and vote-selling are prohibited election acts punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years.