THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has reminded all candidates to refrain from giving money or any valuable items as prizes to anyone in any event or competition during the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) campaign period.
Comelec chair George Garcia made the announcement during an ambush interview at the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) event in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City on Wednesday.
“They can judge, they can crown, they can put on sashes or whatever… they can participate in the pageant or any competition, but they are prohibited from giving any prizes, awards, or rewards,” Garcia said.
“Perhaps if it’s a plaque, we have no problem with that, but cash rewards will be considered vote buying. Providing food is no different from campaigning – it’s campaigning… so if you feed everyone who is watching the pageant, for example, that’s vote buying. We should avoid that,” the official added.
“The issue of vote buying is not only the liability of the person buying votes but also the person selling votes or asking for them. We should avoid this because the group or organization involved will also be affected,” Garcia explained.
