Facebook user falsely claims no May 12 polls

A Facebook user posted two consecutive announcements — one from “Queen Elizabeth III” and another from an alleged “United Nations (UN) head Queenhelen Abdurajak” — falsely claiming that the midterm election would not take place on May 12.

The Commission on Elections did not release any announcement on the cancellation or postponement of the May 12 local and national elections. The voting proceeded as scheduled, beginning at 5 a.m. for early voters and 7 a.m. for regular voters until 7 p.m.

The first post by Elred Adriado Echaluce claims that there would be no election as announced by a certain "Queen Elizabeth III," who supposedly represents the “Royal Imperial Lupah Sug Islamic United Kingdom of Sulu & North Borneo.” The post included an edited graphic dated April 25, 2025.

While there was a real Queen Elizabeth, she was Queen Elizabeth II, the longest serving monarch in British history, who passed away in September 2022, making no such figure as Queen Elizabeth III. Moreover, the Islamic United Kingdom of Sulu & North Borneo ceased to exist in 1878 and even then, did not have authority over the Philippine archipelago. 

The graphic also contains a reference to "66+1 Commonwealth Nations," even though the Commonwealth of Nations comprises only 56 official member countries.

In another post, Echaluce claims that there is no 2025 election due to an alleged order from “UN head Queenhelen Abdurajak.” 

According to its website, the UN has no authority to cancel elections in its member states as its role is limited to providing electoral assistance through advisory services, logistics, training, civic education, computer applications and short-term observation.

The UN is currently led by secretary-general António Guterres, who was reappointed to a second term in June 2021. 

Research also shows that Queenhelen Abdurajak is a “woman cosplayer” who claims to be a divine sovereign of the so-called Maharlika Kingdom of God Lupah Sug Empire.

Comelec has repeatedly reminded the public to only rely on official sources and to remain vigilant of false information. (AJM, MS)