A Facebook post falsely claimed that the Commission on Elections has disqualified Cagayan De Oro City First District congressional candidate Lordan Suan over alleged vote-buying.
Facebook page CDO News Updates published on May 12, a post bearing the Comelec logo and alleging that the poll body had officially reelectionist Suan at the last minute:
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has officially disqualified Congressman Lordan Suan from running as a reelectionist Congressman in Cagayan de Oro’s 1st District”
However, as of the end of election day, the Comelec had not issued a resolution or statement regarding Suan’s alleged disqualification. A review of Comelec’s verified Facebook page and official website as of the morning of May 13 yielded no such announcement.
Suan himself addressed the claim in a post, saying it was false and slanderous:
There are people spreading false information saying I was disqualified from the COMELEC because of vote buying. This news is untrue and just plain slander on my name.”
Suan is running against Rainier Joaquin “Kikang” Uy, who had a pending disqualification case last December over allegedly irregular voter registrations. Comelec later dismissed the case due to insufficient evidence, according to multiple news reports.
According to a news report, Suan denied initiating the disqualification case against Uy but confirmed he submitted a letter to Comelec expressing concern over the sudden increase in voter registrants in the district.
Read the full story on FactRakers.org.