Rules relaxed for voting day

Voters do not have to present their vaccination cards or wear face shields at polling stations on May 9, Election Day, contrary to instructions shown in an old explainer video that is circulating on social media, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Sought for clarification regarding the TikTok video, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia on Saturday said there was “no need for vaccine card” and “no face shield required”.

Comelec rules, however, require that everyone wears a face mask at all polling centres.

The video was an excerpt from an episode of TV5’s Frontline Tonight shown in January.

It recently went viral on the video-sharing app on Saturday.

It told viewers that they must wear face shields at voting centres and present a negative RT-PCR test if they are not vaccinated.

In February, the poll body issued a “new normal” manual which said that face shields are voluntary in areas under alert level 3 or lower.

An earlier Comelec resolution required voters to wear face shields to be able to cast their votes.

This resolution has not been amended as of Saturday.

Metro Manila and 88 other areas nationwide were placed until May 15 under alert level 1, the least restrictive quarantine classification.

In a letter to the Comelec on Saturday, veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal asked poll officials to take immediate action on the viral video, which he said “would confuse the voters”.

The video had “suddenly resurfaced (and) is now going viral online via TikTok with very misleading information or wrong advisory regarding the requirements for voters in the May 9, 2022, elections,” wrote Macalintal, a legal counsel for the Vice-President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo.

He said that the Comelec should urgently advise TikTok Philippines to take down the video and request clarification and an advisory from the management of TV5 to inform the public that the video was not updated. The video had over 700,000 views as of Saturday night.

Macalintal indicated that the distribution of the misleading video could be an election offence.

He cited a provision in the Omnibus Election Code, which said that an election law violator may be “any person who, to confuse the voters, propagates false and alarming reports or information regarding any matter relating to ... the general conduct of the elections.”

A day earlier, Garcia tagged as “fake news” a message which was also circulating that said that deactivated voters may ask for reactivation through the Comelec’s IT department with only a few days left to vote. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN