For Vice President Leni Robredo, it's okay to take the bribe money offered by politicians since it actually comes from taxpayers' money.
This was the response of Robredo during an online meeting with household workers supportive of her presidential bid when she was asked about her opinion on vote-buying.
However, the Vice President advised the public to still vote based on what their conscience says.
"Magiging honest ako sa inyo, ha? Kasi nung nag-run ako for congressman, grabe 'yung bilihan ng boto sa amin. Alam mo, mali siya, mali 'yung pagbibili ng boto. Pero 'yung sinasabi ko sa tao, tanggapin nyo… 'Yung pinangbibili ng boto, pera din 'yan ng taongbayan," Robredo said.
[I will be honest with you. When I ran for congressman there was a lot of vote-buying. You know it is wrong, it is wrong to vote-buy. But I tell the people to accept it because it came from taxpayers' money.]
"Tatanggapin mo pero ang iboboto mo kung sino iyong nasa konsensya mo," she continued.
[Accept it but vote based on your conscience.]
She also advised voters to choose candidates based on their conscience and not because they feel indebted to the politicians.
"Huwag kang boboto dahil pakiramdam mo mayroon kang utang na loob kasi tinanggap mo, ‘di ba? Iyong sa akin, tanggapin mo iyong pera, pero iboto sa konsensya," Robredo said.
[Don't vote because you feel indebted that you accepted the money. For me, accept the money and vote based on your conscience.]
"Kasi na-imagine mo... Kapag mayroong namili ng boto pero paglabas ng resulta ng eleksyon, talo siya, next time, mag-iisip na iyon. Next time mag-iisip na iyon na, 'Oh, hindi effective iyong pagbibili ko ng boto,'" she added.
[Because imagine this... If next time someone who bought votes loses when the election results come out, he or she would begin thinking. Next time, he or she would say, "Oh, my vote-buying was not effective at all."]
In the same forum, Robredo admitted that it would be hard to hold accountable those who are vote-buying, especially now that it is possible that they have moved to online means like e-wallet applications.
To fight the illegal practice, Robredo suggested that barangay officials engage in “people power” by standing guard outside these houses to ensure no vote-buyer would be able to go in or not.
