No results yet in Davao del Norte by 2 p.m. on election day

A Facebook post falsely claimed that partial election results in Davao del Norte were available by 2 p.m. on May 12—well before voting had officially ended.

The post, published by DAVNOR Facts at 2:38 p.m., featured unofficial percentages for congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral races along with the caption:

AS OF 2:00 PM MAY 12, 2025 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

VOTE WISELY MGA KA DAVNOR FACTS (Vote wisely, fellow DAVNOR Facts)!

The post alleged that Oyo Uy was leading the congressional race in the first district with 77% of votes, Aldu Duhali was ahead in the gubernatorial race with 53%, and Rey Uy held a commanding 72% in the mayoral race for Tagum City.

However, under Section 206, Article XVIII of the Omnibus Election Code, votes are counted only after voting officially ends and must be conducted publicly by the Board of Election Inspectors at the polling precincts. No official results can be released or presumed before this process begins.

While early voting began at 5 p.m., regular voting ran from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., making any claims of partial vote tallies by 2 p.m. impossible under Philippine election law.

The first partial results were transmitted after 7 p.m. on election day. As of 10 p.m., the Commission on Elections had transmitted about 65% the election returns from Davao del Sur. 

The partial tally showed Rey Uy leading the mayoral race with around 64% of transmitted votes and Edwin Jubahib ahead in the gubernatorial race with over 58%. Oyo Uy was leading the congressional race in his district with over 118,000 or 56% of ballots counted. 

As of this writing, the misleading post has garnered over 1,200 reactions, 77 comments and 1,300 shares. DAVNOR FACTS was created in April 2024 and has around 9,200 followers. (DA)