MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Consulate in Dubai “firmly denies” a said incident of a pre-shaded ballot given to a voter as the overseas voting period begins.
“The Consulate strongly advises the public against posting and/or spreading unverified and/or unsubstantiated allegations online whether on social media and messaging applications and that such acts are prohibited under UAE (United Arab Emirates) laws,” the consulate said in a statement.
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The warning comes after social media posts circulated about an overseas Filipino worker allegedly given a pre-shaded ballot when they went to vote in Dubai.
“No such incident or anything remotely similar occurred or was reported,” the consulate said.
The post said the first day of overseas voting in Dubai “went well in general” and saw a high voter turnout.
Each voter is advised by poll clerks and election officers about the conduct and procedure of voting.
On Sunday, poll watchers from five different political parties were also present during the entire voting period and no one witnessed or reported any issues.
The consulate said voters may raise any issue they face with the election board. It also reminded the public that irregularities are recorded in the official minutes of voting, which will be sent to the Commission on Elections.
Singapore incident
Over in Singapore, another voter said she was given a pre-shaded ballot on Monday. Cheryl Abundo said in a social media post that she was given a spoiled ballot from Sunday when she went to cast her vote on Monday.
“The girl [at the precinct] took the ballot I gave back and nilagay lang sa likod niya (she just placed it behind her) and she handed me a new one,” Abundo said in a Facebook message to Philstar.com on Monday evening.
Abundo said the incident was reported to two watchers before she went out of the embassy and she also told the marshall about what happened.
“Before leaving the embassy, I also talked to a marshall by the gate to report but he did not take action since he said I already reported the incident when I was inside the embassy,” Abundo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Meanwhile, the poll watcher reached out to her after voting to tell her that the spoiled ballot has since been marked void.
“But there's no clear verification if it was the same ballot I returned,” Abundo said. The ballot Abundo received already marked a vote for Sara Duterte as vice president, along with several other senators.
The Philippine Embassy in Singapore clarified that it was an “isolated incident” after unverified sources claimed that the embassy has been giving pre-shaded ballots to voters.
In a statement on Monday evening, Duterte said the issue was “??grossly disconcerting” and that the legal team of her political party, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, will ask Comelec to investigate the election irregularities in Dubai and Singapore.
"REPORTS ABOUT PRE-SHADED BALLOTS... ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY"
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio, a vice presidential candidate, urged the Commission on Elections and her party, Lakas-CMD, to investigate reports of pre-shaded ballots in Singapore and Dubai. pic.twitter.com/fnk8JWgIQk— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) April 11, 2022
The commission on Monday said its task force against fake news will meet to discuss and verify the incidents.
Filipinos abroad may cast their votes at any Philippine post until May 9.