7 out of ‘DuterTEN’ want manual recount, ‘anomalies’ investigated

MANILA, Philippines — Seven of the “DuterTEN” or the 10 candidates backed by former President Rodrigo Duterte and PDP-Laban want a manual recount of votes and investigation into alleged anomalies of the 2025 midterm elections.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Atty. Israelito Torreon said that he was set to file the complaint before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Manila Hotel Tent City where it held its proclamation for senators-elect. However, he was told to lodge it at its main office in Intramuros, Manila.

The candidates said that they want a “full, independent, and transparent investigation” into alleged election irregularities such as the reported 17 million overvotes and a total of 35 million overvotes “which present grave concerns due to their magnitude, statistically improbable uniformity, and significant impact on the credibility of the electoral results.”

READ: Namfrel: 2025 poils ‘orderly but marred by disruptions’

They also called for a forensic audit of the automated counting machines used in the midterm elections to ensure that the machines worked free from any technical disruptions.

They also said that the Comelec must conduct a legal review of Comelec Resolution Nos. 11061, 11079, and 11081 which includes evaluation whether the implementation of online voting was consistent with the Section 28 of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act.

Lastly, the candidates want a manual counting of votes for the senatorial and party-list race in selected precincts in at least 10 key precincts nationwide, particularly in areas where there were reports of unusual incidents of overvoting to “verify the accuracy and authenticity of the electronically generated results.”

Detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy earlier called for the manual counting of senatorial votes amid alleged election woes. Torreon was also a staunch advocate of manual counting procedure.

However, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia previously said that 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.

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

The Comelec also said that the only way to trigger a manual recount of votes is to launch an election protest.

Meanwhile, when asked why the motion to suspend the proclamation of senators-elect was not included in the complaint, Torreon answered that the candidates do not want to make it look like they are after their own interests.

“Tinanggal namin yung motion to suspend proclamation para walang haka na yung Duterte Seven ay after po sa posisyon. Gusto lamang nila Pastor Apollo Quiboloy at nila Atty. Jimmy Bondoc na ayusin natin ang proseso ng ating eleksyon,” Torreon noted.

(We removed the motion to suspend proclamation so there will be no doubts that the Duterte Seven is after the position. Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, Atty. Jimmy Bondoc and others want to fix the election process.)

The seven candidates are Quiboloy, Atty. Jimmy Bondoc, Atty. Raul Lambino, Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Atty. Jesus Hinlo, Dr. Marites Mata, and Philip Salvador. Only senators-elect Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, and Rodante Marcoleta from the “DuterTEN” secured seats in the Senate race. /cb