Editor’s Note: This fact check was originally published on election day, May 12, 2025. Kikang Uy narrowly lost to incumbent Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan in the polls.
Posts on Facebook (FB) circulated the claim that Rainier “Kikang” Uy, a candidate for congressman from Cagayan de Oro’s first district, has been disqualified. This is false. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said he is still on the official ballot.
On May 11, at least two FB pages circulated the false claim. One of the posts read:
“KIKANG UY TINORJAK NG COMELEC. DINISKWALIPIKA NG COMELEC ANG TUMATAKBONG CONGRESSMAN NG CAGAYAN DE ORO DAHIL SA BASTOS NA PANANALITA
(Kikang Uy was disqualified by the Comelec. The Comelec disqualified the candidate for congressman of Cagayan de Oro due to vulgar language).”
The Comelec allegedly removed Uy from the official ballot as candidate for Cagayan de Oro’s first district due to “immoral and inappropriate public conduct” after using a controversial word during a campaign sortie event.
The Commission has debunked the circulating claim, stating that any post or document claiming such is “fake news.”
“Do not believe any posts about the disqualification cases of candidates if it did not come from the official page of Comelec,” it said in a May 11 FB post.
The poll body also warned the public that spreading such false information is considered an election offense according to the Omnibus Election Code.
In an FB post, Uy also said the circulating information is not true and added tips on how to verify information online.
Several FB pages – such as Daily Pinoy News (created on Dec. 22, 2024) – published the fabricated claim, garnering over 2,600 reactions, 300 comments and 100 shares.
