ANGELES CITY, PAMPANGA – Following several continuous reports of massive vote-buying activities in the city and the revelation of an alleged vote-buying scheme to be carried out on Election Day by the camp of incumbent Vice Mayor Bryan Matthew Nepomuceno, the camp of Angeles City Mayoralty Aspirant Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr., on May 10, 2019, revealed that they are set to file a disqualification case against Nepomuceno.
The Lazatin camp noted that the massive vote-buying of the Nepomuceno camp, which reportedly has been on-going since May 5 in various locations in the city and even involves the abuse of exit polls on Election Day as a front for paying voters, is a mockery of the electoral process.
In a press conference held on May 7, Lazatin had called on the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Education (DepEd), and the citizens of Angeles City to aid in putting a stop to the massive vote-buying of the Nepomuceno camp.
In the same press conference, an audio recording taken from a gathering of supporters at the Nepomuceno-owned Paradise Compound on May 6 was also played and revealed the alleged vote-buying scheme to be employed by the Nepomuceno camp on Election Day.
In the recording, a man explains the ‘exit poll’ strategy for massive vote-buying, which involves a ‘tagging system’ where people who voted for candidates of the Nepomuceno camp will wear blue ribbons around their wrists and rising sun stickers to be easily identified by their poll watchers.
Everyone wearing the identifying tags will then be listed by poll watchers and submitted to exit poll stations to be listed in a log book. The people listed in the log book are then promised P1,000 the following day if Nepomuceno won.
Earlier, on May 5, Nepomuceno also came under fire for the massive distribution of rice in Barangay Lourdes Northwest, which involved giving out bags of rice along with brochures of Nepomuceno, his running mate Councilor Edgardo “Edu” Pamintuan, Jr., Team LET IT BE, and ABEKA partylist to the gathered residents.
According to reports received by the Lazatin camp, the vote-buying activities of the Nepomuceno camp has been continuing since then in various locations in the city, including but not limited to, Westfields International School, Nepo Coliseum in Barangay Sto. Rosario, and Paradise Compound, with no less than 50 jeepneys being sent to each of the city’s 33 barangays to ferry people to and from the vote-buying locations.