Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to proceed with the arrest of vote buyers caught in the act even without a warrant issued against them.

Garcia gave the assurance that they “will definitely protect” police officers who may face legal consequences for enforcing a warrantless arrest against vote buyers, which he pointed out is allowed under the law.

“Allowed ang warrantless arrest sapagkat ‘yan mismo ay pinapayagan ng 1987 Constitution at ‘yung mga desisyon ng Korte Suprema, lalo pa kung ‘yung aarestuhin mo ay caught in flagrante delicto o ‘yun bang caught in the act sa harapan mismo ang krimen,” Garcia explained in an interview.

“Ang ating instruction sa PNP, bilang aming deputized agent, na kinakailangan pigilan natin ang pamimili ng boto. Mang-aresto tayo ng mga tao kahit walang warrant of arrest sapagkat ‘yan ay tahasang krimen na ginagawa sa ating mga harapan,” he added.

Garcia said that even those who were found selling votes may also get apprehended and face up to six years of imprisonment.

He also urged the public to take videos of those who are vote-buying and vote-selling.

“Kapag nakasuhan kayo, hindi lang po ‘yun kulong. ‘Yan ay may kasamang perpetual disqualification to hold public office,” he emphasized.

(When you are charged, you will not just face jail time but also perpetual disqualification to hold public office.)

Last February, Comelec issued a resolution allowing law enforcement to arrest vote buyers and sellers without a warrant if they are caught in the act.

As of Thursday, May 8, the Comelec Committee on Kontra Bigay received over 400 reports of vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources for Eleksyon 2025.

Meanwhile, the PNP on Saturday said it documented five cases of vote-buying across several regions nationwide, so far.