By Sean Rafio
Composite photo: Overseas Absentee Voting, WikiMedia commons / George Lang, Facebook
A social media post claimed Vice President Leni Robredo is leading the presidential race in a supposed exit poll results for overseas Filipino workers.
Facebook user George Lang posted on Tuesday a screenshot of a supposed exit poll where more than 7,000 voters from five countries supposedly said they picked Robredo, while former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. only had over 900 votes.
The post did not indicate a source but purportedly showed Robredo was leading among presidential hopefuls. It garnered more than 1,600 reactions and 2,700, with comments from the VP’s supporters believing the baseless claim.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez, in a tweet, had explained that “as a general rule, unless a known and reputable survey firm released the exit poll, this is not reliable.”
“Lalo na sa social media, madaling gumawa ng official looking forms or graphics na mukhang legit,” he added. “An ‘exit poll’ is not the official tally of votes cast in the 2022 National and
Local Elections. Tandaan din na bibilangin lang ang mga boto ng Overseas Voting on May 9, AFTER the close of polls.”
While exit polls are allowed under the Fair Election Act or Republic Act No. 9006, the law mandates that results may only be released after polling sites are closed on May 9, election day, and are considered unofficial.
Reports such as the alleged exit polls can be referred to the Comelec’s Task Force Kontra Fake News to be investigated. There are close to 1.7 million registered overseas voters for the 2022 polls.
