COMELEC was set to work with e-wallet operators against online vote-buying.
COMELEC — The Commission on Elections was set to work with electronic wallet operators in order to help the poll body track vote-buying online for the 2022 elections.
COMELEC spokesperson James Jimenez bared on “The Mangahas Interviews” that vote-buying was prevalent online via e-wallets or e-payments systems.
According to Jimenez, it wasn’t clear to him that the use of e-wallets or e-payments systems can be banned for vote-buying but what’s important for him was that they’re able to identify behavior that signals vote-buying online.
“I think hindi malinaw sa akin na pwedeng pagbawalan yung gamit niyan for vote-buying but what is important for me right now is that we are able to identify behavior that signals vote-buying,” he added.
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An e-wallet, as defined in The Economic Times website, was a type of electronic card that people used in order to pay for transactions made online via computer or a smartphone.
Jimenez also cited that an account suddenly loaded with a lot of money and suddenly releasing small amounts can be an indicative behavior of vote-buying.
“Now law enforcement can then take over from there para magawan nang paraan,” Jimenez said.
The campaign period for national positions was set from February 8 to May 7, 2022, while the campaign period for candidates in local elective positions was set from March 25 to May 7, 2022.
Meanwhile, Jimenez said that the poll body had engaged the social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to have access and tools in order to regulate political advertisements and other activities on social media.
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