BY:DONALD SEVILLA
A DIGITAL INDUCEMENT
Politicians are savvy and highly adaptable. In this day and age of high technology through the use of digital platforms, vote buying or any form of pecuniary inducement has leveled up.
Where traditionally, cash was stapled to stubs bearing candidates’ names, now we see QR CODES that translate to cash when redeemed.
Quite clever, as we only see being distributed, printed leaflets or coupons with politicians’ faces and their respective numbers to be shaded in the ballot.
Man has always been creative and has a talent for making shortcuts, skirting the law and bending established rules.
The use of a QR CODE to redeem cash at digital payout platforms such as GCASH among others is unprecedented in the history of vote- buying in our elections.
This makes the charge of vote buying difficult to prove as no cash is seen. Our election laws though long established, often lack teeth and enforcement, making obvious electoral violations difficult to prosecute.
But no matter how loud we shout and clamor for change, there will always be a smart Aleck to circumvent the rules.
Yet our hands are not totally tied down. As we are in a democracy we have the power of choice.We can choose to unburden ourselves and turn things around or we can just play along, going with the current.
But what shall we do come election day? Shall we vote for honor, glory and love of country or shall we vote for money?