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Jimenez says Comelec probing alleged pre-shaded ballots
FILE: ALL SET. The Commission on Elections is all set for the May 13 elections, its spokesperson, Director James Jimenez (left), says during the Broadcasters’ Forum held at Roland’s Farm to Table Restaurant along Visayas Ave.
, Quezon City on Wednesday (April 24, 2019). Jimenez also explained the issue of disenfranchised overseas absentee voters in the Middle East. With him is National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) president, Rolly “Lakay” Gonzalo. (PNA photo by Ben Briones)
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) spokesperson James Jimenez on Thursday, May 16, responded to the viral video showing an alleged pre-shading of ballots in Lanao del Sur, saying that the poll body will look on it.
In an interview with GMA News TV’s “News To Go,” Jimenez said, “I saw a video this morning and we’re actually initiating [an] investigation on to that.”
“A few things to note on that particular video, however, there is no internal evidence to show where it happened, who did it,” he added.
On Wednesday, May 15, netizen @sitzfleisch_ posted a video clip showing a woman allegedly pre-shading some ballots.
“This post has been deleted pero ito ay video ng garapalang pandadaya sa (but this is the video of shameless cheating in) Lanao del Sur,” she said.
“Kung nagagawa nila [rito], malamang ginawa din sa iba. Malaking kalokohan ang eleksyong ‘to (If they can do it [here], surely they also did it in other places. This election is a big joke),” she added.
The same video was also shared by Kabataan Party-list on its Twitter account with a caption, “PANOORIN: Nakuhanan ang pre-shading ng mga balota sa Lanao del Sur! Patunay ito ng malawakang dayaan sa natapos na 2019 elections, lalo na sa Mindanao na nasa ilalim ng (WATCH: The action of pre-shading of ballots was captured in Lanao del Sur! This is a proof of wide-scale cheating in the recently-concluded 2019 election, especially in Mindanao which is under) Martial Law.”
“Maging mapagbantay sa ating boto ngayong halalan (Be vigilant to our votes this election)!!” it continued, along with hashtags #LabatanKabataan and #LabanBayan
On his Twitter, the spokesman said he is “asking for help investigating both this video and the content it shows.”
One netizen, @Tanimal15, responded to Jimenez’s post asking the latter, “Sir James with all due respect, isn’t this COMELEC’s jurisdiction? If I understand your tweet correctly, you’re requesting assistance to investigate this? From whom? Does COMELEC not have enough power to start [an] investigation on its own?”
Reacting to this, Jimenez said they needed help in their probe given the lack of information about the video.
“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,” he noted.
As of writing, netizen @sitzfleisch’s post has 24,185 retweets and 33,119 likes, while Kabataan Party-list’s post has 5,041 and 7,231 likes.
Sought for a comment regarding the viral video, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Thursday’s press briefing said the COMELEC should look into the incident.
“COMELEC ‘yan. That’s their turf. Hindi tayo pwedeng makialam d’yan sa ngayon (We cannot interfere with that for now),” Panelo said, although admitting that he has not seen the video yet.
