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MANILA, Philippines – As Filipino voters cast their ballots on Monday, May 9, they must also protect and safeguard their votes.
This is what election lawyer Emil Marañon emphasized in the last episode of Rappler’s Ask Your Election Lawyer where he urged people to remain vigilant and discourage vote buying in order to have clean elections. [WATCH: Ask Your Election Lawyer: Bantay-sarado sa sagradong boto]
What can individuals do if they witness any form of violation or irregularities on election day?
“Pagdating ng eleksiyon, bantayan natin at siguraduhin na wala pong violations, wala pong vote-buying na nangyayari. If ever na meron po tayong makitang violation, ang first instinct po dapat natin is to document using our cell phones, kuha ng photos and videos,” Marañon said.
(When the election comes, let us watch and make sure that there are no violations, no vote-buying happening. If we ever see a violation, the first instinct we should have is to document using our cell phones, take photos and videos.)
The election lawyer encouraged voters that one of best ways to document incidents is by using cameras, cellphones, and CCTVs to capture as much photo and video evidence as they can in the face of voter violation incidents and to report them immediately.
When reporting incidents, don’t forget to include the following details:
- Date and time. When was the incident observed?
- Place. Where did the incident take place? It is good to identify a specific barangay or landmark, or provide the specific school or precinct.
- Context. What happened to the incident? Reporters should state necessary information that will help verify or explain the incident.
- Additional photo or video proving that an incident took place.
Vote-buying, vote-selling, election-related violence, campaign violations are only a handful of forms of election offenses. A fair election can only be achieved if election-related anomalies are reported and immediately addressed. A comprehensive list of election offenses can be found on Comelec’s official website.
To ensure a fair election, MovePH and its partners are crowdsourcing and verifying cases of vote buying and vote selling, campaign offenses, election-related violence, technical glitches, and other election-related problems in the 2022 national elections. MovePH is also encouraging the public to refrain from amplifying secondhand information and unverified reports online – especially if they’re shared or posted anonymously.
Here’s a list of groups where you can report election offenses:
Report directly to #PHVoteWatch
You may send reports or any election-related irregularities directly to MovePH’s #PHVoteWatch form. Complainants will need to provide their information for further verification of their reports.
Online users may also submit reports by composing a tweet or posting about the incident on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #PHVoteWatch in their posts.
Make sure to provide details about the incident, including the type of election violation, the concerned parties, and where the incident happened. Include photos or videos as proof to the report. We encourage first-hand and verified reports.
Once received, MovePH point persons will reach out to the provided contact number of the voter who sent the report as part of the verification process. (READ: #PHVoteWatch: Report vote-buying, other election violations in 2022 polls)
Report violations to Comelec
Election offenses can be reported to the closest office of the Philippine National Police (PNP), or directly to your local Comelec office.
You can also report voter violations directly to Comelec online through the email sumbongko@votesafe.ph, or posting the incident on Twitter with the hashtag #SumbongKo.
Report through iDEFEND’s website
iDEFEND, a human rights movement campaigning for social justice, launched a website for election violations. Reports from the information gathered will be shared with the Commision on Human Rights (CHR). You may send reports for any election-related issues through iDefend’s election violence form, or scanning the QR code in the post below. For further inquiries, you may also contact iDefend through their email iDEFENDofficial@gmail.com.
Report incidents to Kontra Daya
Kontra Daya is a campaign led by various organizations and individuals committed to opposing election fraud during the election period. The coalition is crowdsourcing reports for any election frauds through their incident report form.
You may also contact Kontra Daya through their hotlines: +63 920 833 2296 or +63 945 824 3600
Facebook or Twitter users can also submit their reports to Kontra Daya by using the hashtags #KontraDaya and #VoteReportPH in their posts or tweets.
Kontra Daya accepts the following election fraud reports:
- Vote buying
- Red tagging
- Militarization
- Machine errors
- Illegal campaigning
- Disinformation
- Harassment
- Flying voters
- Failure of election
- Disenfranchisement
- Use of government resources
Report incidents through LENTE
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) launched its Election Monitoring initiative across 17 regions in the country to strengthen its advocacy on ensuring a safe, accountable, transparent, and inclusive conduct of the May 9, 2022 national elections.
The focus of LENTE’s monitoring activities is the implementation of May 9 elections procedures, including health and quarantine protocols, the voting experiences of persons with disabilities (PWDs), the elderly, indigenous peoples (IPs), and persons deprived of liberty.
You may send reports of election-related offenses or queries on election day procedures through the following hotline numbers: 0917 106 6265 (Globe), 0920 266 0944 (Smart), and (02) 7502 1591 (landline).
Facebook and Twitter users can also reach LENTE through its official social media pages: LENTE Philippines (Facebook) and @LENTE_PH (Twitter).
To volunteer for the elections and for any of these efforts, email us through move.ph@rappler.com. – with reports from Andrea Abadia and KC Perez/Rappler.com
Andrea Abadia is a Rappler volunteer from University of the Philippines Cebu. She is a junior majoring in Bachelor of Arts in Communication.
KC Perez is a Rappler volunteer from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is a junior taking up a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philippine Studies, Major in Philippine Literature and Broadcast Media Studies.
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