CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Backed by some 13,000 affidavits of voters mostly claiming that their votes did not match the results from the automatic counting machines, an election protest was filed May 22 before the Commission on Elections to call for a manual recount of votes of the 2025 midterm elections in this city.
Attorneys Jep Miranda and Arnold Bayubay, legal counsels to protestant Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab, filed the protest versus Mayor Vilma Balle-Caluag before the Comelec Law Department and Records Section at the election body’s main office in Intramuros, Manila.
The protest calls for a manual recount of all ballots cast in the city’s 239 precincts, citing the “statistically improbable voting pattern – most notably the unprecedented and highly unlikely outcome in which Pineda-Cayabyab did not even win a single precinct.”
Coupled with allegedly consistent vote misattribution across varying voting demographics, the cited statistical improbability “strongly suggests digital scaling or manipulation in favor of the presumptive winners.”
The protest also demanded the immediate safeguarding of all election documents and data storage devices to prevent tampering and ensure full transparency
“This is not merely a protest against election results – this is a stand against the erosion of our democracy,” Pineda-Cayabyab declared. “No candidate, regardless of political power, should override the sacred right of citizens to choose their leaders freely and fairly.”
“We are determined to seek justice not just for my candidacy, but for every disenfranchised voter whose voice was silenced,” she added.
The Comelec has also been urged “to act with urgency and impartiality in addressing this protest to restore public confidence in the electoral system.”
Two in Pineda-Cayabyab’s losing council slate, namely Kristel “Ato” Agustin and Tin “Kings” Chua, also filed their respective electoral protest.
Punto News Team/Contributed photos
