A supposed press statement from the Commission on Elections has circulated on various social media pages, with some posted on spoofed versions of media channels such as Rappler, Inquirer, and Philstar.com.
The Comelec statement supposedly announces the disqualification of partylist Bayan Muna.
This claim is FAKE, and the Comelec has since denied the existence of such a memorandum order.
We are fact-checking this claim as this fake press release has circulated widely two days before election day, May 12.
MindaNews received a copy of the circulating press release from Comelec, Saturday night.
According to the fake press release, “The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), in its En Banc session during deliberations on May 6, 2025, has decided with finality to disqualify the BAYAN MUNA PARTYLIST from the May 12, 2025 elections.”
The fake press release likewise cites Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code which identifies terrorism as an election offense.
The Commission on Elections has since disowned the post.
or its part, Bayan Muna Davao regional coordinator Rauf Sissay sent a statement to MindaNews.
“We in Bayan Muna Southern Mindanao would like to clarify that Bayan Muna Partylist is not disqualified from the 2025 elections. This is a deliberate attempt by state-sponsored elements to deceive the voting public, and discredit Bayan Muna and its pro-poor advocacies. We also denounce all forms of red-tagging and terrorist labeling of progressive organizations.”
Bayan Muna nominee and former Congressman Karlos Zarate said in a Facebook Video that the claim is a repeat of past elections, where disinformation actors faked their organization’s disqualification.
Read the full story on Mindanews.com.