Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) officially began voting on April 9 for the 2016 elections (The 30-day overseas voting period will end on May 9, 2016). The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that there are 1,376,067 registered overseas voters who may participate in deciding the next national leaders of the Philippines.
In the Pilipinas Halalan 2016 public Facebook group, a concerned citizen shared a post about a suspicious tampered sample ballot which highlighted names of certain candidates. The sample ballot in question shows that the names of Daang Matuwid’s Presidential candidate Mar Roxas and Vice-Presidential candidate Leni Robredo highlighted in yellow, their political party’s official color.
The post about the suspicious overseas election 2016 tampered ballot has over 9,000 shares on Facebook as of whis writing. The post has even reached COMELEC spokersperson James Jimenez who made the following response:
This has been circulated in one form or another since before today. Looks like a sample ballot to me. #PiliPinas pic.twitter.com/maMihhXr4v
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016
This ridiculous highlighted ballot has got even smart guys wondering. Not because it makes sense, but because it pops up so often.
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016
Or a 'shop a ballot that looks real. My point exactly. Still, even people who ought to know better seem to be misled https://t.co/gnBC9xLORb
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016
It’s not a report. It’s a claim, made on social media, w/ nothing to show claim is truthful. kailangan ng patunay https://t.co/WzZoqEUGZL
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016
I'm just gonna leave this here. pic.twitter.com/Ay0G8hrWy8
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016
A little photochop is a dangerous thing
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016
I don't know where that highlighted ballot came from. Not from @COMELEC, for sure. No proof of authenticity. Could be a digital fake.
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) April 9, 2016