Velasco seeks manual recount after loss in Marinduque gubernatorial race

A voter shades the circle of her chosen candidates in this file photo. Comelec file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Marinduque Province gubernatorial bet Lord Allan Velasco is seeking for a manual recount of votes in the 2025 midterm elections after falling short from the race with just over 300 vote-margin.

His legal counsel, Atty. Rowell Ilagan filed the election protest before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday. Ilagan said that they are seeking to contest 189 precincts, which they will believe will make an impact on the election results.

“The governor won the race with a 389-vote margin. And based on our study, there are 10,175 unaccounted votes. So these votes can definitely affect the results of the elections and of course what really disenfranchised our voters,” Ilagan told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English during an interview.

(The governor won the race with a 389-vote margin. And based on our study, there are 10,175 unaccounted votes. So these votes can definitely affect the results of the elections and of course what really disenfranchised our voters.)

READ: Velascos of Marinduque lose to political opponents

According to the official and final results of the elections, the tight gubernatorial race showed that Velasco got 65,726 votes while his rival, Mel Go won the race with 66,115 votes.

When asked for the proof for the unaccounted votes, Ilagan said that there were 142,000 ballots processed in the province but only 131,000 voted for the gubernatorial position.

“So there might be overvote or undervote or the machines did not read the votes properly. So that’s why we are demanding a manual recount for these precincts to determine the real votes,” Ilagan added in a mix of Filipino and English.

Ilagan said that Velasco’s camp believes that there are irregularities in the automated counting machines used in the elections. Ilagan noted that some votes may not be properly read by the machines.

The legal counsel also shared that aside from the unaccounted votes, the grounds for the election protest include other electoral fraud.

“There [is] electoral fraud, and irregularities in the conduct of elections. We also have affidavits from witnesses proving vote-buying, irregularities during the conduct of the elections,” he said.

Ilagan mentioned that there were reports of intimidation, threat, and vote-buying in favor of a candidate.

READ: Pre-shaded ballots? Overvotes? File an election protest — Comelec

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Thursday reiterated that alleged election anomalies are solid grounds to file an election protest. Garcia said that this is a remedy for the losing candidates to contest the results of the election.

The deadline for filing an election protest is set 10 days after the winning candidate is proclaimed. /jpv