Pharmally Executive Faces Vote Buying Complaint

An executive of Pharmally Biological Co., who is seeking a congressional seat in the fifth district of Quezon City, was accused on Tuesday, April 5, of vote buying for allegedly distributing P500 each to registered voters in Novaliches.

In a 13-page complaint filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Intramuros, Manila, urban poor organizations Koalisyong Novalenyo Kontra Korapsyon and Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan ng Bagbag accused Rose Nono-Lin, stockholder and financial officer of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., of vote buying, conspiracy to bribe voters and intervention of public officers in relation to the Omnibus Election Code.

Also charged were Councilors Lorlie Alejo and Danny Maniquis as well as 14 coordinators in Barangays Sta. Lucia and Novaliches Proper.

They face 237 counts of vote buying, representing the number of people allegedly given P500 each.

Lin is running under the Lakas-CMD party.

In November last year, a Quezon City voter asked the Comelec to disqualify her for failure to comply with the one-year residency requirement under the law.

The urban poor groups, which identified at least 30 complainants, alleged that the camp of Lin has been giving away P500 each to registered voters, in the guise of ayuda (aid) or scholarship grant.

The cash is reportedly being distributed in four batches to Lin’s campaign headquarters in Barangay San Bartolome.

Under the vote buying scheme, registered voters will be given claim stubs, which they will present upon entering the designated headquarters.

Photos and personal information of the voters will be taken inside the headquarters where a short video presentation of Lin will be shown to them prior to the cash payout.

“Once called, the voters would enter a room. A paymaster together with a goon or a bodyguard is there. A QR code in the back of their issued ID will be scanned. Afterwards, a small brown envelope containing P500 will be handed over to the voters,” the groups said.

The complainants said they exposed the vote buying scheme in Novaliches as they support the Comelec in promoting clean and honest elections on May 9.

Commissioner George Garcia said this is the second vote buying complaint filed with the Comelec’s Task Force Kontra Bigay.

Garcia said they are still checking where the first complaint was filed.

He said all cases would be dealt with regardless of the candidates involved.

“We will issue a subpoena to immediately proceed with the preliminary investigation. We will afford due process to all and will not allow our judgment to be swayed by publicity or popularity,” Garcia said. “We will be guided by the evidence presented and the law applicable based on the given facts.”

Garcia said the task force would determine if the vote buying complaint in Quezon City is politically-motivated.

“The facts and the evidence of the case will be the factors in coming up with a decision,” he said.

Garcia said the poll body would not compromise the presumption of innocence of the respondents as mandated under the Constitution.

The camp of Lin and the barangay officials allegedly involved in vote buying have yet to issue a statement.

Lin was among the executives of Pharmally summoned by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, which conducted hearings on the allegedly overpriced procurement of COVID-19 supplies by the government amid the pandemic.

During the Senate probe on the Pharmally scandal, Lin told senators that she had no knowledge about the luxury vehicles registered under her name, which were cited in the hearing. She claimed she merely found the vehicles in her garage.

Task force on fake news

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will assist the Comelec in going after those spreading fake news that may undermine the integrity of the electoral process, DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday.

On Monday, April 4, the Comelec said it would seek the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), an attached agency of the DOJ, and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to go after the purveyors of fake news.

“Spreading false news that affect public interest or public order is a criminal offense that falls within the mandate of the DOJ to investigate and prosecute,” Guevarra said.

The Comelec recently launched “Task Force Kontra Daya” under the supervision of Commissioner Aimee Ferolino. Its members include representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, PNP, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Information Agency. – With Evelyn Macairan