Massive campaign seen casting poll doubts

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday raised the alarm over a "massive and coordinated" disinformation campaign to undermine public trust in the electoral process ahead of the May 12 midterm polls.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said disinformation, not just vote buying, is one of the most serious threats to election integrity.

He made the remark in a chance interview after attending the Senate inquiry on the arrest of an alleged Chinese spy near the Comelec's main office in Intramuros, Manila.

"As far as the Comelec is concerned nothing was compromised on any of our systems regarding any election data," Garcia said in English and Filipino.

The Comelec chief said the poll body's sensitive data is not housed in its main office. He admitted that in recent years cyber criminals tried to hack the Comelec's systems, particularly the precinct finder tool used during the 2022 elections.

Garcia said the Comelec's system has already received about three million hacking attempts. But all of these have been foiled.

Sen. JV Ejercito asked Garcia if financial assistance to candidates on May 12 is a ground for dismissal.

"I read in the news regarding the so-called Chinese government-backed candidates. So, what actions could be taken on these? Can they be disqualified because they are receiving assistance from foreign nationals?" Ejercito asked.

Garcia said that monetary assistance from foreign nationals or entities — including Filipinos who renounced their citizenship — is one of the grounds for dismissal of a candidate.

"That is why we ask that a statement of contribution and expenditure is submitted. When we went to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, we expressed our hope that funds would be monitored, especially financial assistance coming from outside," Garcia said in Filipino.