THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it will press charges against those who peddle fake news that the 2022 election results have already been decided even before the actual elections began in May 9, 2022.
Comelec Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said those behind the spread of fake news will face charges for destroying the integrity of the elections by posting on social media that the elections is already done even before it started.
Garcia, who is also the chairman of the Comelec Task Force Against Fake News, they themselves from the Comelec will stand as complainants and will file complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office in Manila.
Even if the elections is over, Garcia said the Comelec will pursue the charges to show its seriousness in combating fake news because if not, this malicious practice will continue.
For now, he said the Comelec is already preparing the complaints they will file at the Prosecutor’s Office.
They will also included in the complaint the videos and the results of the investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which was tasked by the poll body to conduct an investigation against those who spread fake news about the elections.
In the NBI report, it said the peddlers of fake news have already been identified, subpoenaed and asked to execute an affidavit.
According to Garcia, the NBI is already aggressively pursuing the filing of cases against fake news peddlers.