Quiboloy camp clashes with Comelec over manual recount call

THE camp of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder and senatorial candidate Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy pushed back against the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, asserting that a formal petition is not necessary to initiate a manual recount of senatorial votes.

The response came after Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that any party seeking a recount must first file an election protest, a statement made in reference to Quiboloy’s request.

Lawyer Israelito Torreon, Quiboloy's legal counsel, in a Facebook post Wednesday, said that their camp disagrees with Comelec’s statement that a formal petition is necessary to trigger a manual recount.

“First of all, a manual counting of votes in the precinct level is supposedly expressly mandated by law, specifically Section 31 of RA (Republic Act) 9369 or the Election Automation Law; Yet the same was wantonly disregarded by the Comelec," Torreon said.

Torreon said the Comelec has the power to act motu proprio, or on its own initiative, especially in the face of what they claim are widespread and credible complaints of electoral irregularities both in the Philippines and overseas.

He cited Comelec’s previous unilateral implementation of online voting for overseas Filipinos, done without enabling legislation, as an example of the commission acting without a formal petition.

“Why then does it now require a formal petition before acting on a matter as urgent and substantial as a manual recount request (or at least a random manual post audit in areas to be selected by the people) which is anchored on public clamor and glaring irregularities?” Torreon said.

Quiboloy, who failed to enter the Top 12 of the senatorial elections as of Wednesday, earlier called for a manual recount, citing “numerous reports of overvoting anomalies, inconsistencies in ballot readings, and other electoral irregularities.”

In a statement released Tuesday, Torreon expressed gratitude to the pastor’s supporters.

“On behalf of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, we sincerely thank the millions of Filipinos who supported his senatorial bid... Pero ang ating laban ay hindi natatapos sa eleksyon (our fight doesn't end after the elections),” Toreon said.

The camp said it had already submitted several formal requests to Comelec before the election, invoking provisions in both the Election Automation Law and the Overseas Voting Act, but claimed these were ignored.

Torreon warned that Comelec’s inaction could be viewed as a failure to uphold its constitutional duty to ensure credible elections.

"If Comelec is to be faithful to their constitutional mandate, they must act now and allow a manual recount of highly contested precincts -- once and for all," he said.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Quiboloy ranked 31st in the partial and unofficial tally, with 5,578,604 votes. (JGS/SunStar Philippines)