Vote counting will only begin after the ballots close at 7 p.m. on May 9, according to the Commission on Elections, contrary to a circulating Facebook post about vote count updates on the presidential race as early as 8:20 a.m. on election day.
In an interview with ANC, Comelec acting spokesperson Atty. Rex Laudiangco clarified that the counting will only start after the voting period has ended. He said at the 6:24 mark:
“The closing of voting will be at 7 p.m. At 7 p.m., there will be procedures that will be implemented by the electoral board. Included in this is the closing of the voting machine, and then afterward, we will be able to proceed with the counting.”
At around noon, a pro-Marcos-Duterte Facebook page Senyorito’s posted a photocard containing the alleged vote count of presidential bets with the caption:
“PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Update as of 8:20 am
Marcos, BongBong
504, 791 votes
Robredo, Leni
178, 923 votes
Moreno, Isko
89, 572 votes
ctto”
Senyorito’s post garnered 875 reactions, 195 comments, and 576 shares.
The same photo was originally posted by a Facebook user Michael Bosz at around 8 a.m., which garnered 184 reactions and 106 shares.
Another photocard was posted two hours later containing an updated vote count.
Facebook’s edit history feature reveals that the author edited this post 10 times since it was posted at 10:00 a.m.
As of May 9, 3:52 p.m. Michael Bosz’s post contains an updated photocard with the caption:
“LATEST PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Update as of 3:30 pm
Marcos, BongBong
3, 889, 095 votes
Robredo, Leni
3, 116, 371 votes
Moreno, Isko
1, 920, 534 votes”
This post has now reached over 1,600 reactions and 1,500 shares on Facebook. (RA)