Just one day before the big 2025 elections in the Philippines, the group in charge of making sure elections are fair — called the Commission on Elections (Comelec) — gave a strong message to the police.
They told the Philippine National Police (PNP):
“If you see someone buying votes, arrest them right away — even without a warrant!”
A warrant is usually a special paper from a judge that says someone can be arrested. But Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that in this case, the police don’t need one — as long as they catch the person in the act of buying or selling votes.
“This kind of arrest is okay,” said Chairman Garcia in a radio interview.
“It’s allowed by our laws and the Supreme Court, especially if the person is caught right while doing the crime.”
What is vote buying?
Vote buying is when someone gives money or gifts to people so they will vote for a certain candidate. That’s illegal because it’s cheating and makes elections unfair.
What did Comelec tell the police?
Chairman Garcia said that the police, who work with Comelec during elections, should stop vote buying right away. If someone is buying votes in front of them, they must arrest them immediately — even without a warrant.
He also said that people who sell their votes (take money or gifts in exchange for voting) can also be arrested and may go to jail for up to six years!
“If you’re caught buying or selling votes, you could be sent to jail,” said Garcia.
“And even worse, you’ll be banned forever from working in any government job.”
What should regular people do?
Comelec is asking everyone to help.
If you see someone buying or selling votes, take a video (if it’s safe to do so), and report it.
In February, Comelec already made a rule that says the police and law enforcers can arrest vote buyers and sellers on the spot — no need for a judge’s permission, as long as they catch them doing it.
How big is the problem?
As of May 8, Comelec’s team called “Kontra Bigay” (which means “Against Bribery”) already received over 400 reports of vote-buying and vote-selling for the 2025 elections.
Meanwhile, the PNP said they already found five actual cases of vote buying in different parts of the country.
