NEARLY seven out of 10 Filipinos believe that vote-buying will be widespread and that it would hurt the outcome of the May 2025 midterm elections, according to a noncommissioned survey conducted by OCTA Research.

In the survey conducted from Feb. 22 to 28, 66 percent of registered voters in the country said that vote-buying will be widespread in the upcoming elections, while 34 percent think otherwise.

The perception is also high among major areas in the country and among socioeconomic Class D and E, while Class ABC, at 54 percent, disagreed that vote-buying will be widespread.

Among major regions, more than 75 percent of respondents in the Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos) Ilocos, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, Bangsamoro, Cordillera, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), and Cagayan Valley regions believe that vote-buying will be rampant, with 99 percent of Cagayan Valley respondents saying that vote-buying will be widespread in their area.

Majority of the younger population ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 also believe that vote-buying will be rampant in the midterm election at 63 and 67 percent, as well as those living in urban areas at 68 percent, higher than those living in rural areas at 63 percent.

Meanwhile, 68 percent of registered voters believe that vote-buying will negatively affect the outcome of the midterm election, while 32 percent said that it will not.

Seven out of 10 respondents in the National Capital Region, Balance of Luzon and Mindanao share the same sentiment that vote-buying would have a negative impact on the outcome of the election, while only 54 percent of respondents in the Visayas said that it would have a negative effect.

More than 75 percent of respondents in the Soccsksargen, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Western Visayas, Bangsamoro, Mimaropa, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera regions believe that vote-buying will have a negative impact in the May election.

Conversely, more than 50 percent of respondents from Eastern Visayas, Central Luzon and Davao regions think that it will not have a negative impact on the upcoming polls.

Seven out of 10 young voters ages 18 to 34 also expressed their belief that any form of vote-buying will have a negative impact on the election.

The survey had 1,200 respondents ages 18 and above who are registered voters in their localities. It had a margin of plus or minus 3 percent nationwide and 6 percent for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.