Results of this year’s elections have not been counted, contrary to a claim by a Facebook user that presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, have already won.
The unofficial quick count from the Commission on Elections transparency server will only begin after polls close at 7 p.m.
Winners of the presidential and vice presidential race will only be official after a proclamation by both houses of Congress which will convene as the national board of canvassers for the two positions. House of Representatives Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza said in a BusinessMirror report that canvassing could start as early as May 23.
In a post published at 3:19 p.m. on May 9, Facebook user Jack Yusoff congratulated the Marcos-Duterte tandem whom he called “Mr. President and Vice President.” He also claimed that Marcos received 16,896,543 votes while Duterte garnered 14,567,878 votes.
The post was edited at 3:58 p.m. with the purported vote count being removed. Its new caption now reads:
CONGRATULATIONS 🎉😍 Mr.President & Vice President Bongbong Marcos
Mayor Inday Sara Duterte. MABUHAY #UniTeamBBMSARA. NANGANGAMOY PANALO NA💕 (Long live #UniTeamBBMSARA. Smells like a win).
Social media monitoring tool Crowdtangle showed that Yusoff’s original post gained 671 reactions, 51 comments and 132 shares.
The edited version has 1,800 reactions, 99 comments and 257 shares as of writing. (RC)