Comelec probing viral video of ‘pre-shaded’ ballots 

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Jimenez. INQUIRER.net file photo / Christia Marie Ramos

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was investigating a viral video of allegedly pre-shaded ballots in Lanao del Sur.

I’m asking for help investigating both this video and the content it shows. #VoterEd #NLE2019 https://t.co/TeOnkKz1nE

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) May 15, 2019

“I’m asking for help investigating both this video and the content it shows. #VoterEd #NLE2019,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a tweet on Thursday.

The video shows an unidentified individual seeming to shade multiple ballots in Lanao del Sur. A netizen said the original video had been deleted online.

https://twitter.com/sitzfleisch_/status/112865167544551424

However, the Comelec spokesman said they had yet to verify the incident because of the lack of details on the video.

“Notice how little information we have about the video & what it shows. We don’t know who uploaded it; we don’t know for certain when it was uploaded; no idea who the persons are; we don’t know where the video was shot, etc. These are what we need help with. #VoterEd #NLE2019” Jimenez said in another tweet.

Notice how little information we have about the video & what it shows. We dont know who uploaded it; we don’t know for certain when it was uploaded; no idea who the persons are; we don’t know where the video was shot, etc. These are what we need help with. #VoterEd #NLE2019 https://t.co/HbrpJgAzLE

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) May 16, 2019

Issues with receipts

Meanwhile, Jimenez said over GMA 7’s News-to-Go that some receipts could have “misprints” following a complaint on social media that their receipts did not reflect their votes.

“One incident caught my eye. It was clear that there was a misprint there. Ang claim niya ay hindi lumabas yung binoto niya for senator but you can see from the print that there is a break in the section that should have shown in the senators and the rest of the paper,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez then clarified that the “misprint” is not a universal reason for all issues on receipts.

“While the claim said it did not reflect the vote, it is very clear that the machine misprinted the receipt. This is not a universal explanation but in this one case ang nakita ko ganun. So we have to be very careful in characterizing all of these cases,” he said. (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)