The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Tuesday that foreign actors may be behind the spread of "fake news" related to the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections.

In a report by RH Edniel Parrosa on DZRH, the AFP raised the possibility as it maintained that the historic elections were "generally peaceful" despite incidents of violence that left four people dead and 19 others injured on the opening day of voting on Monday, September 14, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

At a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said the BARMM elections were a “monumental” event, making it possible that some groups may be attempting to tarnish the image of the polls.

Asked whether foreign actors may have influenced the spread of fake news, Padilla said, “Possibly, yes.”

Padilla said authorities were looking into the possibility that false information was being spread on social media to create an impression that the elections in BARMM were chaotic.

She said the security sector was not ruling out the involvement of unidentified foreign influences in the spread of such misinformation.

Padilla made the statement after the Philippine Army told DZRH News that it had reported several social media pages to the police over the alleged spread of false information related to the elections.