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Abstract
Vote buying has been an issue for many countries. Filipinos love to exercise their right to vote.
The Philippines is one of the countries with the turnout rates--81% (Francisco 2016). And a big
part of this is the voters from depressed areas of the country.
Tondo is one of the cities of Manila with the highest number of people still living below
the poverty line. And one of the barangays with the most number of poor people is barangay 128
which is more famous for its name ‘Smokey mountain.’
There are different varieties of vote buying ranging from particularistic material rewards
to the amount of money being distributed to the great diversity in how benefits are distributed. In
this paper, we will see what kind of vote buying techniques politicians use in barangay 128 to
buy the peoples vote and how the people react in regard with the politicians’ actions.
Upon further analyzation of how the electorates’ votes will turn out, these votes were
classified into three: the clientelist or compadrazgo vote, the sold vote, and the smart vote. The
clientelist votes are bound by close patron-client ties that exhibits friendly and reciprocated
relationship between the candidate and the electorate. The sold vote is the votes of the electorate
which they intentionally sold to the politicians. And lastly, the smart vote wherein the electorate
evaluates a candidate critically taking into consideration the proper and supposed to be
qualifications of the candidates they are to vote.
But even the state captures all those who buy and sell votes, vote buying will never stop
unless the people will start the change they want within themselves.
Keywords: vote buying, Smokey Mountain, slums, smart vote, compadre/compadrazgo vote, sold
vote, eat-buying, elections, voting
Democracy in the Philippines has been around for quite some time now which was introduced by
the Americans around 1935 (Jezek 2015). The Philippines is again at that point in time wherein
people get to exercise their democratic practices, namely, voting—because people believes in
their power as a collective group. Like what Aristotle (1941) perceived as the power of the
assembly,
Now any member of the assembly, taken separately, is certainly inferior to the wise men.
But the state is made up of many individuals. And as a feast to which all the guests
contribute is better than a banquet furnished by a single man so a multitude is a better
judge of many things than one individual.
Before the democratic practices, people may feel inferior or powerless against higher ups.
But now, with their right to vote, they can be much more powerful if united in one goal. As
Lipset (1960) put it, ‘voting is the key mechanism of consensus in democratic society.’ And as
democratic society exhibits competitive elections, a blossoming market for votes has emerged as
Vote buying, in its barest sense, involves the exchange of money goods, or services for votes (F.
C. Schaffer 2007). From the word itself, in the view of a politician, vote buying is the act of
buying the votes of the electorate not necessarily to get their vote but to win the elections. Even
if many years have already passed, vote buying is still very alive and thriving in the political
world. But why does vote buying exist? Why do people resort to selling votes? Because in the
first place, we see that all states are made up of families, and in the multitudes of citizens, there
must be some rich and some poor so there exist differences of wealth and prosperity (Aristotle
1941) that constrains them to the situation at hand which leads them to the easy way out that is to
sell their votes. Vote buying, sometimes regarded as a phenomenon of olden times and backward
places, is making an impressive comeback. Once struggling for votes in places where party
labels and electoral platforms may not mean much (like in the Philippines), political parties and
candidates are trying to sway voters by offering them particularistic material rewards (F. C.
Schaffer 2007).
Exchanging votes for particularistic material rewards are not the only way to buy and sell votes.
Being an illicit activity, vote buying is largely hidden in from public inspection. Most of the
steps it involves are not readily observable (Schaffer and Schedler, What is vote buying? 2007).
It has been present for a long time now so vote buying is now being practiced by many
politicians which pushes them to be more competitive to devise a strategy to buy votes that will
be made as a tool for electoral mobilization (Schaffer and Schedler, What is vote buying? 2007)
just like what Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) had said, “They [those
First, there is a dizzying array of material inducements. Before, it was just money that
politicians use in exchange for the votes of an electorate. But now, they give other items ranging
from groceries, tshirts, umbrellas, chickens, cement, mobile phones, haircuts, and even birthday
cakes. In England, candidates for elections “treats” voters to food and drinks as far back as the
1660s (Kishlansky 1986) which we all know is not something that is merely just treating the
voters into something but it is also a form of vote buying because through this, the electorate will
consider this act in the elections. So it will turn out that the electorate’s vote is bought through
Second, the wide variety of the amount of money distributed. Take for example the local
elections last 2007, a mayoralty candidate in El Paradiso, Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental
was said to be buying votes from P500-P700 per person; supporters of mayoralty candidate in
Manila were allegedly giving stickers with P20 enclosed; and supporters of the same mayoralty
candidate was giving as much as P1,000 in Barangay 649, Tondo, Manila. For some reason,
some electorates sell their votes to the highest politician who gave the highest amount of money.
Lastly, there is even great diversity in how benefits are distributed. These benefits come
in various forms: donations, loans, lottery, contributions, health benefits, etc. that politicians may
cover up as their projects with hidden agendas like the issue of the Liberal Party wherein they
allegedly used the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCT) or the Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program to buy votes and get support from the local government for the Roxas
We see that vote buying already took different forms in different places, and is more
intense in some place than others. But let us always consider the effects of our actions in vote
buying in relation to the long term political implications of this and its effect to the society we
live in.
Rapid urbanization in the developing world has produced a boom in the population of slums in
and around cities (Rojo, Jha, and Wibbels 2014) just like in the Philippines. In the 2016 census
of the city of Manila, there is an estimated 1,686,621 people in its 897 barangays and almost
43% of the population is people living in 229 depressed barangays which is about 725, 149
people and one of the places with the most concentration of poverty-stricken people that is
estimated to be around 289, 928 or 39.9% of the estimated population for depressed barangays is
the district of Tondo (Department of Health 2016). In the elections that happenned last May 9,
2016, quite a number of electorates in barangay 128 has voted. In the eight precincts of barangay
128, a total of 6,214 were registered to vote (Commission on Elections 2016). In this paper we
will discuss the occuring vote buying operandi or techniques and methods of politicians if ever
there is, both local and national, and how the residents react to it in the slums of Barangay 128,
Tondo, Manila which is more known as Smokey Mountain. Smokey Mountain is one of the
barangays in Manila with the most number of people living in slums. And with the huge
population of poor people, this paper aims to discover if the current situation of the people in this
depressed barangay encourages them to sell their votes or not to politicians during elections.
Based from the data gathered from the interviews from some residents and a barangay official of
barangay 128, there are three kinds of votes: the smart vote, the clientelist or compradrazgo vote,
‘Treating’ electorates to lunch, having talks over some coffee, and inviting them to celebrations,
these are just some ways to get the electorate. Clientelist or the compadrazgo way of buying
votes is more commonly practiced by local elites who wants to establish a region or an area as
his/her domain. It is easy to win the heart of the masses if the politician uses a compadrazgo or
the ritual kinship between people because it creates strong ties without the need for being blood
relatives. And to be able to establish these ties, local elites need to capture something of the
essence of life of people in these depressed areas like barangay 128. And by essence of life of
people living in poverty, it is the ‘dense and concrete’ life—a life whose main stress is on the
buying is more in this kind of strategy, on the clientelist particularistic material rewards, that
Kagawad Jesus acknowledges as ‘eat-buying’. ‘Konting kain lang, payag na sila… mababaw
lang kaligayahan ng mga tao dito [just treating them to some snacks, they already agree to vote
for you… they are already happy over simple gestures],’ (Dela Cruz 2016) which proves that
most people in this strata are really into this personal and intimate type of clientelist
relationships. People feel more comfortable if the ties established are more on the personal than
the formal which somehow entitles their conscience to vote for the candidate whom they feel are
closest to them. These clientelist exchanges of material rewards against political support are
generally fed by expectations of reciprocity which the patrons expect to be paid back with the
currency of political support which can be classified as moral debts (Schaffer and Schedler,
In the Philippines, an estimated three million people nationwide were offered some form of
payment in the 2002 barangay elections which is about seven percent of all voting-aged adults
(F. Schaffer, Why study vote buying? 2007). Since most of the residents and registered voters of
barangay 128 are living in poverty, some resort to selling their votes for easy money because
they are placed in a stituation with opposing group pressures and where conscience is now out of
the picture. (S. Lipset 1960). Due to the poverty that the people are experiencing, according to
Kagawad Jesus (2016) some residents of the barangay are really looking for ways or for
politicians to buy their votes because some really need money maybe because they have families
to feed. Many of the residents, up to 30% of the them, are still working as garbage collectors,
porters in divisoria and other markets, working in the nearby ship piers, and other jobs, which is
not sustainable for them since they only earn so little that is barely enough to sustain them and
their families. So whenever given the chance to get a hold of some money or events that they
know they can benefit from, they take every opportunity even if it means commodifying their
votes even though they know that it will directly compromise their freedom to express their
preferences. In evaluating their behavior, it appears that their low status restricts them to the
rapidly and they do noy alter their original impressions of the situation and analyzes it with little
Fifty-four million filipinos are registered to vote across the country. And many of this millions
are hungry for change, “Enough is enough. We cannot take it anymore. Change is what we
want,” said Max Valledor, a Filipino professor in London, in an interview by The Guardian
(Obordo 2016). From the interviews from some residents of barangay 128, we see that the people
are becoming more aware, more intelligent, and more critical about their choices. In the case of
Elmer (2016), he was very particular on what kind of president he wants. He wanted a president
that will really be able to help them, help the people, and help the country. He also has high
regard over his conscience so he was saying that even iff politicians offer him money or any
other forms of vote buying, if he knows that it is wrong, he will not accept even if it’s in the form
of ‘biyaya.’ On another personal interview with a resident of the barangay, Francisco (2016) was
very much concerned and observant with what the outcome of the elections will be. To make
sure his vote will be worth it, he pays close attention to the electoral candidate debates that were
being aired on television. He was also listening and engaging to conversations regarding the
elections and analyzing whether who to vote and not to vote. Even Kagawad Jesus confirms that
the people in the barangay are practicing smarter choices and smarter ways to vote during
elections. There are some residents who don’t submit to the candidates even though these
candidates offer them moey or offer them to sell their votes. People don’t just go with the flow
anymore. Before people are easily swayed by surveys and other propagandas on and off screen.
But voters today are no longer being influenced by ppolitical suveys as said by UNA campaign
manager, Toby Tiangco. He also added that voters now are becoming more aware of the issues
and have come to appreciate the importance of looking into the track record, credentials,
credibility, and integrity of candidates (Elona and Boncocan 2013). For some reason, the people
are now thinking about the long term effects of their vote buying behavior rather than the
accepting the ease money temporary livelihood that politicians are very willing to offer them.
Vote buying, even though not legal, due to being very widespread, has somehow became part of
the normal market conditions (F. C. Schaffer 2007). Even though there is little hope in
eradicating vote buying especially if the people themselves can’t adapt to the change they want,
the police officers and inspectors of barangay 128 is not losing hope. Even though vote buying
have always just been allegations, the police doesn’t stop with their countermeasures if ever
something will go out of hand before, during, or after elections. According to the interview with
one of the police officers in Smokey Mountain PCP, they exercise police visibility all the time
considering that the area is very dangerous to prevent not only election-related crimes, but also
other crimes. But there is always a solution to every problem. It must be remembered that even
the limited act of voting is not just a matter of spending an hour going to the polls but an
outgrowth of spending much more time in reading, listening, and thinking about politics (Weber
1946). If people will start the change with themselves, then maybe, the eradication of vote
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Patricia: so eto po. tungkol nga po siya sa vote-buying. bumoboto na po ba kayo dati?
Patricia: ano pong masasabi niyo sa mga nakaraang eleksiyon lalo na po pag patungkol sa vote-
buying
Patricia: opo.
Elmer: ang masasabi ko lang, ano, may magandang pinagbago na sa panahon ni noynoy aquino.
kaysa sa dati
Elmer: wala naman, wala. ako hindi naman ako mahilig sa ganiyan. kung sino lang talagang
napupusuan ko, iyon lang talaga.
Elmer: may mga naririnig ako na mga ganiyan. may mga naririnig ako pero wala akong aktwal
na nakikita. pero ang alam ko ay mga ganoon na bumibili bili ng mga boto.
Elmer: oo ganoon, mayroong ganoon. minsan gapang-gapang, sa gabi nila ginagawa. pero wala
akong nakikitang aktuwal a. ano lang iyan, puro kuro-kuro lang naririnig ko.
Patricia: tapos, ano po, iyong mga nangyayari pong vote buying, na ganito, na nagbebenta ng
boto nila, o may bumibili ng boto nila.
Elmer: ah wala
Patricia: huling tanong na po, halimbawa po, bibilhin po ang inyong boto. tapos ano, kunwari
kailangan na kailangan niya na po siya noong araw na iyon, na sa pangangailangan, ganiyan.
pero alam niyo po na iyong kandidatong iyon ay kurakot. ano po ang gagawin niyo, iboboto niyo
pa ba siya o ano, dahil 'di ba alam naman po natin na minsan iyong ibibigay nila sa iyo ay mas
malaki pa iyong pwede nilang maibigay...
Elmer: kung talagang may maibibigay sa akin eh tulong, bakit di ko iboboto? syempre e ano siya
eh, kung talagang makaktulong siya sa pamilya namin. bakit hindi ko siya iboboto. kung
talagang napupusuan ko siya, kung talagang tutulong sa pamilya, bakit hindi ko siya iboboto?
Patricia: pero pano po 'pag, wala pang eleksiyon. tapos ang magbibigay po ng, ang bibili po ng
boto ay iyong korap po. kunyari, ibibigay niya po bago iyong eleksiyon. tatanggapin niyo po ba
tapos iboboto niyo siya or tatanggapin niyo po pero hindi niyo siya iboboto. kasi minsan naman
po hindi naman nila minomonitoryung boto diba?
Elmer: ako nakokonsensiya rin ako sa ganiyan kung tatanggapin ko tapos hindi ko naman siya
iboboto. pero kung sa tingin ko naman na maganda talaga ang ano niya, bakit hindi. iboboto ko
Patricia: so aktibo po kayo sa pakikinig sa mga nangyayaring debate ngayon, iyong presidential
debates…
Francisco Abron
On the vote buying situation in Brgy. 128, Tondo, Manila
April 16, 2016, Permanent housing, Balut, Tondo, Manila
Patricia: ilang taon na po kayong bumoboto? mga ilang beses na po kayo nakaboto?
Patricia: lahat po. maayos po ba iyong mga naging eleksiyon? sa tingin niyo po ba maayos iyong
nangyayaring eleksiyon?
Patricia: paano po iyong mga isyu, 'di ba po noong kay Marcos mayroon tayong mga dayaan sa
eleksiyon, ganiyan.
Francisco: wala naman akong masasabi sa mga naattendan kong eleksiyon, wala. 'Di katulad ng
iba na sasabihin na dinadaya daya. ako wala.
Patricia: sa eleksiyon po, 'di ba po madalas ano, laging nakasulat iyong mga pangalan sa balota,
hindi naman ho siya binabasa noong mga nasa voting area, sa mga voting precinct.
Francicso: hindi, kasi sa noong nakaraan, wala naman kaming masabing kung anong bagay na
masama. basta pagkatapos ng boto uwi na.
Patricia: itatanong ko lang po, kasi 'di ba kapag sa eleksiyon po, iyong mga iboboto ay nakasulat.
mayroon po tayong mga botante na hindi nakakabasa, nakakasulat, hindi nila alam kung sino
iyong nasa balota kasi hindi po nila nababasa. nakatapos po ba kayo ng pag-aaral? nakakabasa po
ba kayo at nakakasulat?
Francisco: basta sa akin 'pag ako nagboto, iyong ano ko lang, iyong papanigan ko sa akin, iyon
ang ano ko, sinusulat.
Patricia: alam po natin na tuwing eleksiyon makikita po natin sa balita na mayroon po tayong
mga kaso at alegasiyon ng vote-buying. nakaranas na po ba kayo ng ganito o may mga kakilala
po ba kayong nakaranas ng vote buying?
Francicsco: wala
Patricia: huling tanong na po. halimbawa po may magpupunta dito na, kunwari pupunta dito
iyong presidente, or iyong mga tumatakbo bilang presidente. tapos alam naman po natin na may
isyu ngayon sila binay, sila mar roxas, 'pag namimigay po sila ng mga flyers na may kasamang
pera.
Francisco: pero sakin ma'am hindi ko po iyon tatanggapin dahil masamang bagay rin iyon. iyon
lang ang masasabi ko.
Patricia: sige. pero may kakilala po kayong ganoon? wala naman po?
Francisco: mayroon naman po minsan nag-iikot din. si ano lang hindi pumupunta dito, si Mar
Roxas at si Duterte.
Patricia: pero hindi po sila bumababa para makipagkamay o makipag-usap sa mga tao.
Kagawad Jesus: meron, meron. hindi naman wholesale, tingi tingi lang
Patricia: pwede niyo po bang ikwento iyong mga alam niyong vote buying?
Patricia: ikukuwento niyo po iyong mga alam niyong nagiging vote buying dito sa baranggay.
Kagawad Jesus: wala. puro eat buying lang. konting kain lang, payag na sila.
Kagawad Jesus: meron kasing mga tao na naghahanap talaga kung papaano sila mabibili.
ganoon. meron talagang naghahanap. eh kasi ang tao rito sa metro manila, kahit na nandito na
kami sa metro manila, nakakaranas pa rin ng hirap. ngayon, dahil uso nga ang ano ngayon ang,
dahil nasa ano tayo ng eleksiyon, nangyayari talaga, sa pangangailangan nila ng pera. 'di ba?
siguro ikaw hindi ka nangangailangan ng pera,
Kagawad Jesus: pero iyong mga taga-rito, MAS nangangailangan. lalo na iyong may mga anak
na marami. iyong iba kasi rito, 20% or 30 %... 20% nandoon pa rin sa hanap buhay na basura...
or nandun sa divisoria, nagkakargador, or nandoon sa pier, estipidor, ganoon. so ganoon pa rin
ang pangangailangan. nangangailangan pa rin sila. at pag may mga nag-offer na ganiyan, na
"sumama ka lang sa amin, magkakaroon kami ng kumustahan sa baranggay." so 'pag sinabing
kumustahan 'yan, may mga kainan 'yan, may konting padulas 'yan. basta doon lang tumitingin
iyong mga ano ng tao, ang kaisipan ng tao. kung sino iyong mga nakakapagbigay sa kaniya, iyon
na agad ang na-eelect niya o ang naiboboto niya. kasi, iyong mga tao rito na ano, e naghahanap
talaga. pero hindi naman lahat. iyong iba rito, may talino. may mga oras na naghahanap sila pero
hindi porket nabigyan sila, iyon na iyong binoboto nila. marami ritong matatalino. mas higit dito
iyong matatalino. pero marami rito rin ang nangangailangan at iyon ay tinatanggap tanggap na
lang nila. at wala silang, wala silang...angal o hiya na tanggapin ang mga binibigay sa kanila.
bagkus, welcome na welcome sa kanila ang pagtanggap sa mga pera na ipinagkakaloob sa kanila
ng mga kandidato. o mga regalo, or mga.. may mga t-shirt,, mga mug, mga baller, iyong mga
keychain, pamaypay... maligaya na sila jan. lalo na kung may pera, "ay binigyan kami ng pera ni
konsehal ano o, pina-ano kami, binigyan kami ng...." basta maligaya na sila roon. then, pagdating
naman ng eleksiyon na, minsan sumasagi sa isipan nila iyon. pero tungkol naman sa matataas na
posisyon, iba ang pananaw nila diyan. kasi bihira naman dito bumaba ang mga matataas na
opisyal ng gobyerno. ang mga pumupunta dito e iyong mga lokal lang.
Kagawad Jesus: hindi bumababa. itsa lang ng ano (candy), ok na. itsa itsa lang ng mga candy.
bihira dito ang dumadaan na mga presidentiable na umaano, para mag-ano. yun lang. nakasakay
lang sa mga sasakyan. paandar lang. ganoon lang. pero iyong mga, dito sila magfofocus, iyon
wala. ang sikat dito, puro mga lokal. sila yung mga umaarangkada.
Patricia: 'pag sa mismong eleksiyon po, malapit din po ba dito iyong voting precinct?
Kagawad Jesus: malapit lang. walking distance lang. pero iyong iba nagsa-side car 10 pesos
bayad.
Bhen: YEEESSS!
Patricia: may alam po ba kayong mga kaso ng vote buying na nangyayari dito sa baranggay?
pwede niyo po bang ikuwento in-detail?
Bhen: a sige ganito 'te. simula nung nag-ano iyong ganitong eleksiyon, nag-umpisa iyong
campaign, sa amin naman dito sa area namin sa smokey mountain, sa 36 baranggay, wala pa
naman pong nagrereklamo regarding diyan sa vote buying na 'yan. at sa ibang baranggay na
katulad ko, taga-katorse doon sa tondo, area ng station 2, wala pa rin naman akong naririnig
regarding jan sa vote buying na 'yan.
Bhen: nakaraang eleksiyon...e noong nakaraang eleksiyon meron. pero allegasyon ko lang 'yon
kasi chismis lang, naririnig ko rin sa iba e. 'di ko nakita nang aktuwal. doon sa'min sa ano,
botante kasi ako dyan sa Almario, may naririnig ako na nagbabayad ng ganito pero 'di ko na rin
sasabihin kong sino.
Patricia: ano po iyong, minsan din po 'di ba, minsan nagha-hire po sila ng mga tao para patayin
'yong ganito-ganiyan. ano po iyong measures na ginagawa niyo para maiwasan iyong mga
ganoon?
Patricia: opo
Bhen: syempre dito sa area namin common naman na para maanuhan namin iyong krimen, e
umaano kami sa mga tao, iyong tinatawag na police visibility. nandoon kami sa labas ng lugar
namin, nakikita kami ng mga tao, para maano iyong krimen, mapigilan. ayun lang. at
kinokonsidera din naman iyong ibang krimen na pwedeng mangyari.
Patricia: so iyon lang po iyong alam niyo tungkol sa vote buying at mga election-related na mga
krimen dito sa lugar?
Bhen: iyon lang naman po. basta sa aming mga pulis, e kahit hindi naman na, para mapigilan
iyong mga patayan regarding sa eleksiyon, e ginagawa pa rin namin po iyong police visibility
para ho mapigilan iyong krimen na dapat mangyari. hindi lang dahil sa tawag na patayan sa
eleksiyon. sa vote buying naman, wala pa naman akong naririnig na aktuwal. puro salita nila
pagka-ano. allegation lang nila.
Bhen: ayun, na may nagbabayad ng ganiyan para iboto sa ganito. kasi aktuwal naman na, pwede
naman silang magreklamo at puwede rin naman nilang kunin 'yung taong ano, may tinatawag na
ciitizen arrest e. puro allegation lang naman po lahat ng nangyayari.