Democracy fails when vote buyers offer people in dire need with money in exchange for votes. This is a “mark of the devil” corrupting our society.
This is the message conveyed by a Catholic Bishop whose statement gives gravity to the seriousness of the issue, since he used to head the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan urged voters to help end vote-buying by not selling their votes.
He urged the electorate to refuse vote buying, which he branded as a ‘mark of the devil’.
“Vote buying is a mark of the devil. It puts a price on the person of the voter,” Villegas said.
“It is even worse when the vote buyer puts a price on their votes and tempts the poor,” he said.
The archbishop also lamented how vote buying destroys the heart of democracy and the people who make up the nation.
“Democracy fails if we don’t destroy vote buying,” he said.
Villegas lamented vote buying has already started in the guise of giving “ayuda” (assistance).
“This is not early assistance. This is early corruption. They are working hard to bait poor people. It has begun,” he said. (with CBCP News)