MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Just hours after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced that it had inked a partnership with blog Rappler for a voter engagement and to fight disinformation related to the May 9 elections, Filipino netizens are crying ”foul!”

Unnamed sources have told The Adobo Chronicles that a group representing netizens is set to file a petition before the Comelec to DQ (Disqualify) Rappler.

The sources said that it was wrong, or even unconstitutional for the poll body, which should be non-partisan, to enter into any kind of agreement with the least-trusted news brand in the Philippines whose CEO Maria Ressa is a convicted criminal. ”It’s like rewarding Rappler for its bias, anti-administration and anti-Marcos stance, not to mention its violation of the law,” they said.

Many are questioning whether this partnership is really about voter intimidation, instead of voter engagement.

This is a developing story.