The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday, May 11, refuted reports about an alleged ballot snatching involving members of the military in Lumbatan, Lanao del Sur.
Colonel Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesperson, said he checked the veracity of the report with Brig. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, and they found out that it was “not true.”
“I checked with BGen. Cuerpo. Not true,” Zagala told the Manila Bulletin.
In a press briefing conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Comelec acting spokesperson Director John Rex Laudiangco said the poll body will look into reports that supposed members of the military forcibly took a ballot box from Tambak Primary School while it was being transported to Marawi City.
The ballot box was then allegedly brought to the municipal hall, and additional shaded ballots were inserted even if the polls have already concluded.
“Parang napakahirap gawin niyan. Why? Kasi po ‘yung transmission. All the activities there are being logged and recorded so madali namin makita ‘yan (It seems like it would be very difficult to do that. Why? Because of the transmission. All the activities there are being logged and recorded so we can easily track that),” Laudiangco said.
“But then again, we will raise this to the command center to have this fully investigated,” he added.
Upon inquiry, Zagala found out from Cuerpo that members of the military’s Quick Reaction Force (QRF) were indeed placed on standby at the municipal hall but police personnel were the ones who secured the voting areas.
“Walang threat sa area na ‘yan kaya QRF lang ang inilagay namin (There was no threat in the area that’s why we only placed QRF members there),” Cuerpo was quoted as saying by Zagala.