Detained Quiboloy calls for manual recount of senatorial votes
Detained Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy attends Senate probe on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. —Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Detained televangelist and senatorial candidate Apollo Quiboloy is calling for a manual recount of senatorial votes amid reports of election irregularities.
The statement was released by his camp on Tuesday night, through his official spokesperson Atty. Israelito Torreon. The camp thanked Filipinos who voted for Quiboloy, who is part of the “DuterTEN” or the 10 senatorial candidates supported by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
READ: Quiboloy lawyer calls for manual vote counting at precinct level
According to INQUIRER.net’s data of partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) transparency server at 9:04 p.m., Quiboloy ranks 31st in the senatorial race with 5,577,526 votes.
“Your trust and belief in his message of truth, justice, and accountability have been truly moving,” Torreon said in a Facebook post.
However, the camp said that the fight does not end in an election, thus, calling out reported election woes.
“With numerous reports of overvoting anomalies, inconsistencies in ballot readings, and other electoral irregularities, Pastor Quiboloy calls for a manual recount of the senatorial votes,” Torreon added.
The camp that the call is not to reject the democratic process, “but a call to strengthen it,” emphasizing that they will seek justice and will pursue all legal avenues “to ensure the integrity of every vote cast.”
Torreon previously urged the Comelec to implement a manual vote counting at the precinct level for the May 2025 elections, saying that it could compromise election integrity and cybersecurity.
However, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that the poll body could not execute the call as it is not mandated by the Republic Act No. 9369 or the Automated Election Law, which states that precinct-level voting to municipal, provincial, and national canvassing must be automated.
Among the Duterte-backed senatorial candidates, only incumbent senators Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa and Representative Rodante Marcoleta have made it to the winning “Magic 12” based on the unofficial and partial voting results.
READ: ACM glitches, ‘overvoting’ top Election Day woes
Many election watchdogs received complaints from voters over reports of glitches on automated counting machines, with cases like votes being invalid due to “overvoting” or voting for a candidate they did not intentionally vote for, among others.
Quiboloy, currently detained at the Pasig City Jail, is accused of human trafficking and child and sexual abuse. He was arrested at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound in Davao City after months of hiding. /cb
