The Philippines’ electoral commission and watchdogs have told AFP it is “standard procedure” to destroy unused ballots after each election, contrary to false claims on social media that it was proof of fraud at the midterm polls in May. A spokesperson for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was done so that they will not be misused.
A TikTok video posted on June 2 shows footage of people in a room tearing up papers, next to a picture of Comelec chairperson George Garcia.
“Those ballots should not be torn up, they should be used in the recount,” reads the Tagalog-language text superimposed on the video.
“George Garcia, are you afraid people will find out how you manipulated results of the elections?”
Vice President Sara Duterte, who may face an impeachment trial at the Senate, said in June that she believes the May 12 mid-term vote was marred with fraud, after several senatorial candidates she backed did not win a seat (archived here and here).
Her political party has since asked the country’s Supreme Court to order a recount of votes (archived link).
Philippine outlet ANC reported Garcia has rejected the allegations (archived link).
The video was shared elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook.
Comments on the post indicate some users appear to believe the footage shows a cover-up.
“This only proves that the PDP-Laban won,” one said, referring to Duterte’s political party.
“This is embarrassing for you, Garcia!” another wrote.
But the clip actually shows election workers destroying unused ballots as required by law.
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.