MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, February 28, filed a complaint against a vice mayoral bet in Isabela over videos he reportedly posted on Facebook claiming ability to manipulate the upcoming elections.
The Comelec claimed that Jeryll Harold Respicio, a lawyer and certified public accountant (CPA) running for vice mayor of Reina Mercedes, Isabela, violated Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Article 154 of the RPC pertains to “unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances,” and includes a provision against false news that can “endanger the public order.”
The Comelec filed the complaint with the Manila city prosecutor on Friday morning.
According to Comelec Chairperson George Garcia, Respicio claimed in his videos posted on Facebook that he had the ability to manipulate vote-counting machines (VCMs), and that he allegedly had a “backroom program” that can change election results.
“Maliban sa misinformation, napakapanganib po nito sapagkat, isipin ‘nyo, ngayon pa lang, kinokondisyon ang isip ng sambayanan na pupuwedeng gawan ng paraan ang ating halalan,” said Garcia.
(Apart from the misinformation, this is dangerous, because think of how he is conditioning the minds of the public that the election can be manipulated.)
This is the first case filed by the Comelec’s Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan, at Katarungan (KKK), which seeks to fight misinformation and disinformation in the elections.
The task force is also keen on filing a separate disqualification case, a disbarment case, and a complaint with the Professional Regulatory Commission against Respicio that could get his CPA license revoked.
“Gusto nating patunayin po dito na hindi basta-basta puwede ka magbigay ng kahit na anong pananalita na nakakasira sa kredibilidad, hindi lamang ng institusyon, kundi ng ating halalan, lalong lalo na,” said Garcia.
“Hindi pupuwede dito ‘yung lakasan, tapang-tapangan, at pagkatapos hindi mo haharapin ‘yung consequence ng iyong ginagawa,” he added.
(We want to show here that you cannot just throw words that can undermine the credibility of not just the [Comelec as an] institution, but our election especially. You cannot act all strong and not face the consequences of your actions.)
Garcia said the task force will uphold the same standards against people who speak falsehoods about candidates, and even voters.
The Comelec was successful in having Respicio’s videos taken down.
‘IT expert’
On Friday afternoon, Respicio posted a new video on his Facebook page reacting to the complaint filed against him.
He claimed he was an “IT expert,” as he previously worked as a CPA in Deloitte, specializing in information systems auditing.
“Kaya alam ko lahat ng mga bagay na ‘yan. Marunong akong mag-code, at marunong akong mag-hack. Ang trabaho ko before was tingnan ‘yung mga kahinaan ng mga computer systems at sasabihin ko, ‘Uy, puwedeng i-hack ito, baka gusto ‘nyong ayusin,’” he said in the video.
(I know all of that. I know how to code, and I know how to hack. My job before was to look at the weaknesses in computer systems and say, “Hey, this is hackable, you might want to fix it.”)
Respicio said that he made the video to express to Comelec that he saw weaknesses in the system because the machines are connected to the internet, and can be hacked.
Garcia said that the machines are “standalone,” and that they can run even if not connected to power for three days. The machines are only connected to transmission devices only after they print and publish results in every precinct, which means hacking cannot be done beforehand.
Respicio insisted he was exercising his free speech, expressing his concern over the integrity of the elections. He had no plans of taking back his claims nor backing out of the vice mayoral race.
“Nagtitiwala ako sa ating batas na ang tama at ang karapatan nating mga indibidwal na malaman ang lahat ng transaksyon ng gobyerno ang siyang magwawagi sa huli,” he said.
(I believe in our law that the truth and our rights as individuals to know about every transaction of the government will prevail in the end.) – Rappler.com