Manila: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday raised alarm over what it described as a ‘massive and coordinated’ disinformation campaign aimed at undermining public trust in the electoral process ahead of the midterm polls. Speaking to reporters at the Senate, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said disinformation -not just traditional vote buying- has emerged as one of the most serious threats to election integrity.
According to Philippines News Agency, Garcia stated that despite persistent online narratives alleging fraud and system breaches, the Comelec’s infrastructure remains uncompromised. ‘As far as the Comelec is concerned, wala pong na-compromise na kahit anong sistema namin sa kahit anong (nothing was compromised on any of our systems regarding any) election data,’ he said, adding that the commission’s sensitive data is not housed in its main office.
Garcia revealed that the Comelec’s systems have been targeted by hacking attempts in recent years, particularly the precinct finder tool used during the 2022 elections. ‘Nung nakaraang election ng 2022, 35 million attempts ang tinanggap niyan para ma-hack, hindi po naging successful (During the last election in 2022, 35 million attempts were made to hack it, none of which were successful),’ he said. As of this year, the system has already received nearly 3 million hacking attempts, none of which have succeeded.
He warned that in the past month, Comelec has observed what appears to be a deliberate mind-conditioning effort online. Garcia cited the rapid virality of false claims on social media. ‘Kapag may nakita tayo na isang lumabas sa social media halimbawa na nagsasabing dadayain ng halalan… in just a matter of 30 minutes, 700,000 kaagad ang views and 32,000 kaagad ang comments. Mukha namang napakaimposible na ganon kadami agad ang views… pare-pareho po sila ng wordings, paulit-ulit (When we see someone on social media, for example, saying that the election will be rigged… in just a matter of 30 minutes, there are 700,000 views and 32,000 comments. It seems impossible that there are that many views right away… they use the same wording, over and over again),” he said.
Garcia said the agency had to immediately refute a widely circulated false claim last week that voters needed a national ID to cast their ballots. On Monday morning, he said another fake post spread online claiming that elections were moved to May 10 due to extreme heat. ‘Kinakailangan pa rin kaming maglabas syempre ng pagtanggi. Kinakailangang magkomento kami at sabihing hindi po totoo yan (We still have to issue a denial, of course. We have to comment and say that it’s not true),” Garcia said, stressing the need for public vigilance against coordinated misinformation campaigns.
‘Asahan niyo po na sa mga susunod na araw mina-mind condition po tayo… ginagamit na sa amin ang troll farms at ginagamit din sa amin yung naka-autobot na mga information (Expect that in the coming days, we will be mind conditioned… troll farms are being used on us and the information in the autobots is also being used on us),’ he added, voicing appreciation for the Senate’s ongoing investigation into digital interference.
Despite these threats, Garcia assured the public that the country’s vote-counting machines remain secure and tamper-proof. ‘Ginagarantiya po natin sa sambayanang Pilipino, huwag po silang mag-alala. Ang atin pong mga makina… ay stand-alone machines. Hindi po siya nakakabit sa kahit na ano (We guarantee to the Filipino people, they should not worry. Our machines… are stand-alone machines. They are not attached to anything),’ he assured.
Garcia attended the resumption of the inquiry of Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones on the April 29 arrest of an alleged Chinese spy near the Comelec’s main office at the Palacio del Gobernador, Intramuros, Manila.
