Altered screenshot falsely claims Gasataya win in Bacolod mayoral race

A screenshot of the Bacolod mayoral race on a poll results portal has been altered to falsely and prematurely show a landslide victory for mayoral candidate Rep. Greg Gasataya even before vote counting had even started.

Uploaded at 4 p.m. on election day by EL Sa Liar Nardia’s Facebook account, the doctored snapshot falsely claims Casataya swept the votes of all the 356,814 registered Bacolod voters, leaving his rival, incumbent Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, with zero. It bore the caption:

BREAKING! Congratulations! Mayor Greg Gasataya 🧡🧡🧡 Leonardia and Familiaran are expected to release separate statements to concede from the mayoral and congressional race in Bacolod.

This is impossible as vote counting only starts “as soon as the voting is finished,” according to Section 206, Article XVIII of the Omnibus Election Code. Regular voting ended at 7 p.m.

The false figures were superimposed on a screenshot of ABS-CBN’s election results portal, which aggregates data from the Commission on Elections. No vote count in the Bacolod mayoral race had appeared on the portal as of 8:04 p.m.

Gasataya and Familiaran had been political allies under incumbent Bacolod mayor Albee Benitez’s “Team Asenso” since 2023. Last year, however, Benitez endorsed Gasataya as his successor.

As of writing, the manipulated snapshot has garnered 13 reactions and 17 shares on Facebook. The account has consistently posted pro-Gasataya and Benitez content in the lead-up to the elections. (MAE)