Comelec warns candidates vs election scammers

Inquirer files

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday warned candidates in the May elections not to believe scammers who claim they can deliver a sure win in exchange for fees that reach millions of pesos.

Comelec Chair George Garcia said in a radio interview that these groups have been going across the country, claiming “they can tamper [with] the results of the elections and make them win in just five to 10 minutes if they pay up from P50 million, P70 million, to P100 million.”

Once they get the attention of their potential victim, these fraudsters would then ask for an advance payment for “administrative expenses.”

READ: Kaspersky warns Filipino voters vs poll scams, fake news

Swindlers’ claims

The swindlers would also claim that they were “close” with officials of the Comelec, including Garcia himself, and the current automated election systems provider, Miru. Garcia denied these allegations.

The group also claimed that they had access to official ballots, where they could put “invisible ink” to shade the names of their political rivals so that votes for them would be rejected.

“They should not believe these lies. The printing of ballots at the National Printing Office is very secure, with observers and watchers that could countercheck these ballots,” Garcia said.

Former employees

According to the poll chief, photos provided by the victims showed that some members of the scamming group were “former Comelec employees, around 15 years ago.”

Garcia said he already informed the National Bureau of Investigation about these former employees to get them arrested.

“These scams have been going on for so long. But still, a number of politicians—who think they will lose and want to ensure their win in the upcoming elections—are still falling for it,” Garcia said.

“Our call to the potential victims is to report them to authorities and have them arrested,” he added.