Masbate bets made to explain alleged use of alert text blast

The Commission on Elections said on Monday that four candidates in Masbate have been asked to explain their alleged use of emergency text blast machines for campaign purposes ahead of Eleksyon 2025.

Comelec Chair George Garcia said the candidates — Masbate gubernatorial aspirant Ricardo Tingcungco Kho, vice-gubernatorial bet Fernando Talisic, Masbate City mayoral candidate Olga Tingcungco Kho, and 2nd District congressional candidate Elisa Tingcungco Kho — were issued show cause orders following social media reports that emergency alert systems were used to disseminate campaign messages.

“Nag-issue na [Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan (KKK) sa Halalan] sa apat na kandidato sa may bandang Bicol patungkol sa paggamit ng emergency text blast machines. Titingnan natin sino may-ari nito, private ba yan o gamit ng LGU,” Garcia told reporters.

(Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan (KKK) sa Halalan has issued show cause orders to four candidates in the Bicol region over the use of emergency text blast machines. We are looking into whether these machines are privately owned or provided by local government units.)

Garcia emphasized that using such equipment for political campaigns is a violation of the Omnibus Election Code and may also amount to the misuse of public resources, as these machines are typically used by LGUs for emergency communication during calamities.

“Una may batas tungkol diyan. Pagnanakaw ng ere sapagkat lahat ng ere sa Pilipinas ay pag-aari at binibigay, may lisensya ng nasa mga telcos, kaya sila kumuha sa Kongreso. Kahit mga radyo, yan ay may franchise. Hindi basta pwede gamitin,” he explained.

(There’s a law prohibiting this. It’s effectively theft of airtime, which is licensed to telecommunications companies by Congress. Just like radio airwaves, you can’t use them without a franchise.)

“Kung may bigla gagamit na di otorosado, illegal yan. Pagnanakaw yan. At the same time, sa natural calamity disaster yan ay pinagbabawal din basta gamitin ng kung sino-sino. At abuse of state resources yan. Bakit? Ginamit po eh sa LGU ang gamit nyan… di dapat gamitin,” he added.

(If unauthorized individuals use these machines, it’s illegal. That’s theft and, if LGU-owned, it’s also an abuse of state resources. These machines are intended for emergency alerts, not political messaging.)

Over the weekend, Task Force KKK issued show cause orders against the four Masbate candidates for allegedly using the machines not only for campaigning but also to spread disinformation.

Garcia said additional show-cause orders would be issued to the same candidates as investigations continue.

As of April 14, the poll body has issued six show cause orders for possible violations of the anti-discrimination resolution, four for alleged vote-buying and vote-selling, one for alleged misuse of text blast machines, and another for suspected abuse of state resources.

Comelec also plans to release 63 more show-cause orders related to vote-buying complaints. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

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