Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said on Monday, April 25, said that he is welcome to any opposition or condemnation thrown against the poll body as this is part of the freedom of expression under a democracy.
Garcia made the statement following a warning issued by Commissioner Rey Bulay who vowed to prosecute those who have been accusing the poll body of partisanship and cheating ahead of the upcoming May 2022 elections.
"In the meantime, that is the personal position of Commissioner Bulay. We highly respect and we have to understand where Commissioner Bulay is coming from," he added.
"Maybe talagang sa sobrang dami na rin ng tumutuligsa o sa mga fake news na kumakalat kaya niya na nasabi yun (Maybe because there is now a lot who are criticizing the poll body or because of fake news that's why he said that)," he added.
Garcia said that in relation to this, he would always exercise the highest degree of restraint. He said that these criticisms help the poll body to adjust if there are indeed errors. He stated that they should not be "onion-skinned" about it.
"We are not perfect just like any other government office, that is why welcome po iyon (that is welcome)," he said.
But Garcia mentioned that he draws the line when it comes to fake news. He cited an example wherein a social media post circulated regarding the name of a candidate New Zealand which was allegedly missing. This was later confirmed to be untrue.
The Embassy of New Zealand, according to Garcia, even issued a statement that not a single Filipino complained that a certain candidate's name was missing from the ballot. He then urged the public not to be fooled by fake news since many Filipinos rely on social media for news consumption.
"Do you know 7 out of 10 Filipinos right now are relying on social media for their news and that is not good," he said.
The person who put it up, Garcia said, has since taken down the post. Garcia is the head of Comelec's task force against fake news.
" But the purpose really is not to go after them and imprison them. But the primary purpose is to right what has been wrong, itama ang mali (correct the mistake)," he said.