Footage of Philippine election workers destroying unused ballots not proof of fraud

A TikTok video posted on June 2 shows footage of people in a room tearing up papers, next to a picture of Comelec chairperson George Garcia.

"Those ballots should not be torn up, they should be used in the recount," reads the Tagalog-language text superimposed on the video.

"George Garcia, are you afraid people will find out how you manipulated results of the elections?"

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Screenshot of the false TikTok post taken on June 15, with a red X added by AFP

Vice President Sara Duterte, who may face an impeachment trial at the Senate, said in June that she believes the May 12 mid-term vote was marred with fraud, after several senatorial candidates she backed did not win a seat (archived here and here).

Her political party has since asked the country's Supreme Court to order a recount of votes (archived link).  

Philippine outlet ANC reported Garcia has rejected the allegations (archived link). 

The video was shared elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook. 

Comments on the post indicate some users appear to believe the footage shows a cover-up. 

"This only proves that the PDP-Laban won," one said, referring to Duterte's political party.

"This is embarrassing for you, Garcia!" another wrote.

But the clip actually shows election workers destroying unused ballots as required by law.

Livestreamed process

Keyword searches of the clip's keyframes led to a two-minute video published by local news outlet Daily Tribune on Facebook on May 30 with a caption saying it shows "the destruction of about six million unused, defective, and rejected printed ballots" printed for the elections (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the false TikTok post (left) and Daily Tribune's footage (right) taken on June 24

Other local news outlets, including The Manila Times and ABS-CBN, also published videos showing a similar scene in reports (archived here and here).

The election agency also posted a livestream on its official Facebook page on the same day showing the process (archived link).

'Standard procedure'

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told AFP on June 25 that after every election, the agency destroys defective and rejected ballots, as well as spoiled accountable forms, "as part of its culmination of printing, verification, and exit processes".

The requirement -- along with the printing of official ballots and other election-related tasks -- is outlined in Comelec documents on voting procedures on election day (archived here and here).

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Screenshot of a portion of Comelec's resolution no.11076 (left) and resolution no.11096 (right) with the blue highlight placed by AFP

"It is incumbent upon the Comelec to ensure that official ballots and other election forms are destroyed after elections such that it cannot be used or reused for any other purposes than what is allowed under the law," Laudiangco added. 

Angel Averia, chairperson of the Philippine watchdog National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections, also said the TikTok post's caption is misleading (archived link).

"Excess, unused ballots are not necessarily evidence of fraud. Comelec holds such an activity after each electoral exercise," she told AFP on June 11. 

Alexa Yadao, program officer at election monitor Legal Network for Truthful Elections, told AFP on June 18 that destroying the ballots is one of the safeguards "to ensure that they will not be used for other purposes" (archived link). 

The agency also destroyed unused ballots related to the 2023 village and youth council elections, and the 2022 presidential elections (archived here, here, and here).