Isabela vice mayor-elect surrenders over cybercrime case

Isabela Vice Mayor-elect Jeryll Harold Respicio voluntarily surrendered to a Manila court on Tuesday after learning of a signed arrest warrant in connection with cybercrime charges filed against him by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Respicio appeared before Branch 34 of the Regional Trial Court, saying his camp opted for voluntary surrender to avoid any public arrest or detention.

“We learned there is a signed warrant of arrest here in Branch 34, so we voluntarily surrendered,” he said in Filipino. “This is a process where they will no longer arrest us and commit us to jail.”

The charges stem from a series of social media videos where Respicio allegedly claimed he could manipulate the Commission’s automated counting machines (ACMs) in the upcoming 2025 elections. The Comelec, through its Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan (KKK) sa Halalan, filed the cybercrime complaint in February.

Respicio, who is also a lawyer, allegedly demonstrated in one of the videos how the results of the election could be tampered with through so-called backdoor programs embedded in the system.

The vice mayor-elect denied any wrongdoing and posted bail amounting to P32,000 per count of the complaint.

“I will fight until the end, until the truth comes out and we unearth all the shortcomings of the Comelec this election and prevent a repeat of them in the 2028 polls,” Respicio said.