The Commission on Elections has ordered reelectionist Palawan 3rd District Rep. Abraham Mitra to explain why he should not be charged for alleged vote buying.
In a show cause order, the poll body’s Committee on Kontra Bigay called out Mitra’s posts on his Facebook page Baham Mitra Official on April 2 and 4, allegedly offering limited free tickets to the public for the movie “Sinagtala” at a mall in the province.
“It is the position of this Committee that the foregoing Facebook posts that you made constitute possible violation of Section 261(a) ofBatas Pambansa Blg. 881 or the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), as implemented by Section 26 (b) of Comelec Resolution No. 11104,” committee vice chair Teopisto Elnas said in the order dated April 8 and made public on Friday.
Section 261 of the OEC classifies vote-buying and vote-selling as an election offense. This constitutes offering or promising something of value in consideration for someone’s vote.
Violators found guilty of committing an election offense face up to six years imprisonment.
The Comelec gave Mitra three days from receipt to submit his explanation.
As this developed, Comelec on Friday said that it has the power to suspend the declaration of a winning candidate in the coming midterm elections if there is a pending disqualification case against the poll bet, such as slander, mockery, and offensive language directed at the opposing candidates or to the public, along with other potential grounds for disqualification.
Poll chairman George Garcia said that this includes issues related to the candidate’s campaign gatherings and other election-related offenses.
He said should the Comelec suspend the proclamation of a winning candidate, like in local races for mayor, the vice mayor can sit in an acting capacity until the poll body decides the case.