“Marka-demonyo ang vote buying.” (Vote buying is a mark of the devil.)

One of the Philippines’ most prominent prelates, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, denounced vote buying in a four-page pastoral letter in time for the first Sunday of Advent, November 28.

The 61-year-old Villegas, however, sought to offer a nuanced approach to vote buying, mirroring the pragmatic ways of his mentor, the late Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin.

If a person is hungry, Villegas said, he or she can take a vote buyer’s money as a “gift,” and still follow the dictates of conscience while voting. But if the bribe comes from a politician who packages it as ayuda or pandemic aid, a good Catholic should reject it because it is a form of corruption.

“Kung may matinding pangangailangan tulad ng gutom o bingit ng kamatayan at bigyan ka ninuman nang walang hinihinging kapalit, tanggapin bilang gift sa iyo,” Villegas said. “Huwag mabahala na hindi iboto ang nag-abot ng pera o ayuda.” (If you have a grave need like hunger or if you are on the brink of death, and anyone gives you aid without seeking anything in return, take it as a gift to you…. Do not be afraid not to vote for the person who gave you money or aid.)

“Wala kang pananagutan na tuparin ang usaping marka-demonyo (You have no responsibility to fulfill an agreement with the mark of the devil),” the archbishop added, noting that automated elections make it impossible for politicians to know if one voted for them.

It’s a different matter altogether, he said, if a politician is offering bribes in the guise of ayuda. “Hindi ito maagang tulong. Ito ay maagang corruption (This is not early aid. This is early corruption),” Villegas said, advising his flock to trust that God will help them in other ways.

The archbishop issued this pastoral letter weeks after he drew flak for an earlier social media video on vote buying. Critics said Villegas was condoning an illegal act that is also a sin – much like Vice President Leni Robredo, a presidential candidate who made a similar statement on October 26.

In his video that made headlines on October 30, Villegas said, “Ang pagbili ng boto, at pagbebenta ng boto, ay kasalanan sa Diyos at labag sa batas. Pero kung ikaw ay nagugutom, kung ikaw ay nangangailangan, puwede mong tanggapin ‘yon pero ‘wag mong tutuparin ‘yung ipinagagawa sa ‘yo.”

(Buying votes and selling votes can be considered sins against God and illegal acts. But if you are hungry, if you are needy, you can take the money but do not fulfill what they want you to do.)

Cardinal Sin, whom Villegas in his late 20s served as private secretary, had issued a similar reminder during the snap elections pitting Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino in February 1986. Sin reminded voters: Accept the money but “vote your conscience.” The cardinal said, according to Radio Veritas: “Take the bait but not the hook.” – Rappler.com