Comelec ‘digging into’ viral video of ballots being torn up

Commissioner George Garcia in a media briefing on April 27, 2022, on the first day of Local Absentee Voting held at the Comelec Session Hall, 8th floor, Palacio del Gobernador, Intramuros.
(File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will thoroughly investigate the tearing of ballots by two men in police uniforms as shown in a now-viral video.

In an earlier radio interview, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said the ballots that are shown being ripped in the video were mock ballots that had been used in the training of voters.

Still, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said this had been referred to the poll body’s Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Concerns.

“In fact, the operations group of the Comelec are already there at the command center and they’re digging into this issue,” he said.

“We will investigate this. We will report to you the eventualities. This will be investigated thoroughly and we will be reporting. We will be very transparent about this,” he further said, speaking in a mix of Filipino and Eneglish.

As to where the incident took place, Laudiangco said they had yet to confirm the location.

Asked about his first impression of the viral clip, Laudiangco said the ballots being ripped might have been spoiled ballots lumped with unused ones.

“We have a procedure that we will be tearing in half the unused ballots… The first thing that came to my mind was that they might be spoiled ballots. And then they were mixed with unused ballots. And that’s why they’re tearing it up,” he said.

He further pointed out that the two men seemed aware that a video was being taken.

“If they were cheating, they can clearly see that they were being videotaped. The police officers were not hiding. They showed no hesitation. They were just doing it,” he added.

Nevertheless, Laudiangco stressed the need to wait for the official report from the Comelec as well as the Philippine National Police.

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