Comelec rejects Quiboloy camp’s bid for a manual recount of votes

  The proposal by the camp of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy for a manual recount of votes is not provided for by the law, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Thursday, May 15, 2025. Photo from INQUIRER files

MANILA, Philippines —  The proposal by the camp of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy for a manual recount of votes is not provided for by the law, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Thursday.

Garcia, in a press conference in Manila Hotel Tent City, said that launching an election protest is the only way to trigger a manual recount.

Quiboloy’s spokesperson and lawyer, Israelito Torreon, said on Wednesday that the Comelec has motu proprio powers to call for a manual recount of votes even without a petition for it.

READ: Result of Comelec audit is `best basis’ for poll protest – expert

Torreon also said manual counting of votes at the precinct level is supposedly mandated by law, particularly Section 31 of Republic Act 9369 or the Election Automation Law.

In response, Garcia said: “Of course, we are lawyers, we have our respective interpretations.”

“So if our automated election would have that kind of feature (manual recounting), the law should change. The law should prescribe as to how we would do that. Otherwise, after the elections, the Constitution itself said, the best course is election protest,” Garcia continued.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Garcia noted that an election protest covers issues that occurred even before the election, during the registration, and until the proclamation.

“Therefore, if there is an issue with the counting, raise that in an election protest,” he said.

Garcia also cited Section 17 of Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, which states that: “[t]he Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members.”

“If the Comelec would conduct the recount after the proclamation, then we are usurping the power of the tribunals which are provided for by no less than the Constitution,” he pointed out.

The Comelec is poised to finish the canvassing of the official vote tally on Thursday, which will be used as the basis to proclaim the winning candidates.

READ: Comelec to finish official vote tally 3 days after polls in historic speed

Once the canvassing is finished, the poll body could proclaim the Top 12 senators as winners by Saturday.

Quiboloy ranked 31st in the senatorial race after garnering 5,579,359 votes, according to the data from the Comelec transparency server as of 5:25 p.m. on Wednesday.

The KJC founder launched his senatorial bid despite his detention at Pasig City Jail due to allegations of child abuse, which he vehemently denied./coa