Spreading false information is a crime, envoy warns Filipinos

Dubai: Philippine officials have warned Filipinos against spreading malicious and false information on social media about vote rigging in the embassy or consulate, which is against the UAE Cybercrime law.

Untraceable posts about election cheating in the Philippine embassy have been making the rounds on Facebook since the month-long Overseas Voting started on Saturday.

Vice Consul Rowena Daquipil, in charge of Overseas Voting in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday debunked a Facebook post by someone identified only as “Rafael” that said he voted for presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte but the vote-counting machine registered his vote for the administration party’s candidate, Mar Roxas.

“We have received no official complaints regarding this. We cannot trace the origin of the post because it’s been shared numerous times and has gone viral,” Daquipil told Gulf News.

Daquipil said the fact that the post does not bear a traceable author and no official complaints have been filed casts doubt on the authenticity of the complaint. Other social media posts include Duterte receiving zero votes in Abu Dhabi, an unfounded fact since tallying of votes will only be done when the election ends on May 9.

“If they have complaints, they should tell poll officials, poll watchers, and file an official complaint and we will send it to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for immediate action. These are simply vicious attacks on our integrity, on the integrity of the ballot,” she said.

In Dubai, Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes urged Filipinos to be circumspect in sharing information on social media since rumour-mongering is a criminal offence in the UAE that carries a jail term and a fine of up to Dh1 million.

“There is a UAE cybercrime law that penalises spreading rumours or any malicious comments about anything, any person, any government, whether they be in the UAE or outside. The law applies to anybody who uses a computer inside this country,” Cortes said.

The malicious posts have reached Comelec Manila, prompting officials to clarify the matter. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said no such claims have been proven factual so far.

“These vote-rigging claims have to be addressed firmly because they undermine the confidence in the election,” Jimenez told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

“I would like to remind the public that these strategies exist and that they are being used to create the sense that someone is being cheated, that the election is being rigged in favour of someone or some group but, ultimately, these things need to be verified. That applies to everything, including such claims on social media.”

Meanwhile in Dubai, poll officials foiled a ‘flying voter’, a person who tries to vote more than once, on Sunday morning. Double voting in the Philippines is punishable under the National Election Code. Overseas voters who attempt to vote more than once may face arrest and other penalties.