THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to respond to the petition filed by losing candidates of the PDP-Laban alleging irregularities in the May 12, 2025 midterm elections and calling for the conduct of a manual recount of the senatorial votes cast.
The SC gave the poll body 10 days to submit their response.
At the same time, the Court en banc likewise allowed lawyer Israelito Torreon to submit a supplemental petition in support of the petitioners’ claim of election irregularities.
To recall, the PDP-Laban, through Torreon, filed a petition for mandamus urging the High Court to order a manual recount of the votes cast for the senatorial race, which the political party alleged were manipulated.
The petition cited irregularities, which include, among others, the discovery of equipment such as Starlink transmission devices and solar panels in a private residence in Brgy. Buhangin in Davao City; and the Comelec’s supposed undocumented “destruction” of around six million ballots.
It also noted the complaints of overseas Filipino voters regarding alleged mismatches between their actual ballot selections and the ballot confirmation receipt.
The petitioners also pointed to the purported “barrage of blatant and disturbing irregularities” on Election Day itself, including incorrect reading and flagging of ballots by the automated counting machines (ACMs), and mismatches between actual ballots and voter receipts.
They said that “consequently, more than 17 million senatorial votes were excluded in the official tally as ‘overvotes’.”
The PDP-Laban told the SC that given the continued or further violations committed by Comelec after the filing of the petition, “there is a need for the conduct of a manual recount of votes.”
