‘They knew my details as voter’ – Leni volunteer says of ‘bribe’ offer

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – By vote-buying standards it was laughable. The white paper packet delivered early Monday morning, May 9, had red bold letters spelling the name Ferdinand “Bongbong Marcos” Jr on the outside.

Inside, there was a single P100 note.

It wasn’t the miniscule offer that rattled Rene (not his real name), a resident of Brgy Poblacion, in Cauayan town, Negros Occidental.

It was the yellow post-it that, in block letters, displayed his name, the voting precinct cluster he belonged to, his precinct, “an even my number on the masterlist.”

There was also no logic for local Marcos organizers to approach Rene.

“I’ve been campaigning for more than six months for Leni (presidential candidate Vice President Robredo),” he told Rappler in a telephone interview. 

“Everyone in our community knows I’m for Leni,” he added. 

“I think this was an insult, telling me I’m easily bought,” he said in Hiligaynon.

Rappler interviewed Rene after at least two Kakampink monitors included his name in a list of vote-buying and intimidation reports. He used an assumed name to protect his identity.

Rene said there was neither an overt threat nor openly hostile gesture from the surprise visitors, who passed by his home just a little past 6 a.m. as he was preparing food for volunteer watchers among Cauayan’s Kakampinks, the collective name known for Robredo’s supporters.

In the context of the hotly contested national elections, the development is yet another detail to what Robredo volunteers call a pattern of intimidation by a few of the 28 mayors who publicly endorsed Bongbong Marcos. – Rappler.com