MANILA, Philippines – Elections in Pasig City have heated up online between the camps of reelectionist Mayor Vico Sotto and the businesswoman running to unseat him, Sarah Discaya. And the heat is fueled both by human and machine.

But first, a lookback. In the past, Sotto reprimanded an officer from the Discaya-owned St. Gerrard General Contractor and Development Corporation (SGGCDC) for proceeding with a building’s construction without a permit. 

It seems that this move “provoked” Discaya to run against Sotto — or at least that’s what her husband, SGGCDC chief executive officer Curlee Discaya, has said.

In October 2024, Sotto again raised another issue against the Discayas, as he informed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) they were linked to a company that is part of a joint venture to provide automation technology for the 2025 polls. Sotto said this could pose a possible conflict of interest that could be grounds for disqualifying Discaya. The company later pulled out of the venture. 

Things began to boil by then. In November, we had to fact-check a fake survey on the local race in the city that was shared by a pro-Discaya page.

As Sotto and Discaya prepared for the kickoff of the local campaigns in March, they clashed over supposed permit and location issues for the campaign rally of Team Kaya This, Discaya’s electoral slate. Sotto then debunked Discaya’s claims, and went viral for his “Oh come on” remark and for shaking hands with the air at an event Discaya did not attend.

The Nerve analyzed Facebook discussions surrounding Sotto and Discaya to study the narratives mentioned and actors involved in these conversations. We looked through public Facebook posts shared between March 1 and April 8, that mentioned either mayoral candidate. 

The Nerve found that social media was being exploited to support Discaya, using fake accounts, coordinated posting, and negative campaigning, while support for Sotto appeared to be largely organic.

Coordinated pro-Discaya activity from inauthentic accounts

Some Facebook accounts supporting Discaya engaged in coordinated, inauthentic behavior on the platform, sharing similar posts and messages.

For instance, suspicious accounts left similarly-worded comments on a post from the ABS-CBN News Facebook page. The post, which was the most viewed Facebook post mentioning Discaya (without mentioning Sotto), said congressional bet Ian Sia would be barred from attending Team Kaya This campaign events for three days. Sia was earlier criticized for his misogynist remark on single mothers, and Discaya said the suspension could help him “self-reflect.”

In the post’s comments, several accounts and pages praised Discaya as a leader. These comments all fondly called her “Ma’am Sarah,” and had proper spelling, grammar, and capitalization.

A closer look at the commenters showed these accounts were inauthentic. Accounts that commented on the ABS-CBN News post had fewer than 20 friends, and their earliest public posts were shared from May 19 to 20, 2024.

They also shared similar posts on their profiles. Some accounts shared posts about Urdaneta in Pangasinan, a city nearly 200 kilometers away from Pasig. These accounts typically shared posts from pages such as Urdaneta Secret Files.

At least three accounts also shared the same update on former Bamban mayor Alice Guo fleeing the Philippines.

Other comments on the ABS-CBN News post came from Facebook pages, which were all created on the same date — June 21, 2024. These pages each had fewer than 10 followers, and had either only one like or no likes at all. They would also repurpose images, such as a photo of basketball coach Mike Magpayo or a Palarong Pambansa event, for their profile or cover photos.

The Journal Pasig’s anti-Sotto campaigning

Facebook users also slammed the page The Journal Pasig, which consistently posted anti-Sotto content. The Journal Pasig mentioned Sotto in at least 40 different posts since March 1.

The page frequently posted interviews with supposed Pasig residents who claimed they are dissatisfied with Sotto’s leadership and will vote for Discaya in the upcoming election. In these videos, the interviewees’ faces are blurred.

Netizens were quick to slam The Journal Pasig and claimed that Discaya and Team Kaya This were behind the page’s smear campaign. Users slammed Discaya’s team for their alleged “desperate” moves.

Social media users also pointed out that The Journal Pasig Facebook page, despite being created in December 2018, changed its name several times over the years. The page changed its name to The Journal Pasig on March 11, 2025, shortly before the campaign period for local elections kicked off on March 28.

A Facebook user even alleged that their aunt with an intellectual disability was exploited for one of the interviews, prompting the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to investigate the incident.

Sotto himself called out The Journal Pasig for its negative campaigning and for taking advantage of people with disabilities. In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, April 10, he said: “DSWD looking into this case is not political. It is about protecting the marginalized and the vulnerable…. May mga tao na handang gawin ang lahat para lang sa pera at kapangyarihan (Some people will do everything for money and power).”

There were also signs of coordinated, inauthentic behavior in the comments on The Journal Pasig’s posts. Some comments critical of Sotto came from Facebook pages created on June 21, and had little to no followers. These pages shared identical posts, including those about Urdaneta and Guo, and all used the same hashtag in their comments: #hindinaikawangvivico.

Eagle-eyed netizens also noticed that the interviews may have been filmed outside the Discaya-owned SGGCDC building in Pasig.

Various Facebook users have since begun spamming the comment sections of The Journal Pasig’s posts. Users slammed them for their negative campaigning, baselessly accused that interviewees were paid by Discaya, and urged other people to report the page to Meta.

Around midnight of Friday, April 11, Team Kaya This released a statement on the issue, and said they “do not have control over every conversation or piece of content produced by those who visit or claim affiliation with us.” They also said they would “cooperate fully with the authorities in their investigation.”

It was also on Friday morning when The Journal Pasig Facebook page became inaccessible on the platform. It is currently unclear whether the page was taken down due to user reports and/or policy violations, or if the administrators removed the page themselves. The Nerve has reached out to Meta to respond on the matter, and we will update this story once we receive a response.

More organic social media support for Sotto

Facebook support for Sotto, however, appeared to be more organic. Comments on posts that mentioned Sotto came from a variety of accounts and pages, with hundreds or thousands of friends or followers.

Among the most viewed and top-performing posts on Sotto is from The Philippine Star, which featured a public administration student who met the Pasig mayor on two separate occasions. The post’s comments, while worded differently, mainly praised Sotto for his leadership and commitment to public service.

Some of Sotto’s supporters also defended him from The Journal Pasig’s negative campaigning, and challenged claims that the Pasig mayor was allegedly neglecting other priorities related to education and senior citizens. They often vouched for Sotto by sharing personal stories of receiving aid from the Pasig local government.

Sotto also called for those behind The Journal Pasig to be held accountable for exploiting vulnerable citizens for political gain.

“When you take advantage of the poor and the weak... when you enrich yourself at the expense of the people through fraud and collusion... when you lie and deceive to protect selfish interests... it will eventually come back to haunt you – if not today, then tomorrow. Tuloy ang laban (The fight continues),” he wrote on Facebook. — Rappler.com

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This story was originally published on Rappler on April 11, 2025.

Decoded is a Rappler series that explores the challenges and opportunities that come with living in transformative times. It is produced by The Nerve, a data forensics company that enables changemakers to navigate real-world trends and issues through narrative & network investigations. Taking the best of human and machine, we enable partners to unlock powerful insights that shape informed decisions. Composed of a team of data scientists, strategists, award-winning storytellers, and designers, the company is on a mission to deliver data with real-world impact.