3 days ago
Torreon, Bondoc ask Senate to probe Eleksyon 2025 'irregularities'
Defeated senatorial candidates of the Duterte-backed PDP Laban called on the Senate to probe the supposed "irregularities" during Eleksyon 2025.
Israelito Torreon, lawyer of former senatorial candidate Apollo Quiboloy, and Jimmy Bondoc went to the Senate and filed a petition for the upper chamber and its concerned committees, especially the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, to investigate the supposed 'direct and blatant involvement of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the widespread and well-documented irregularities in the 2025 National, Local, and Bangsamoro Elections.'
In the letter addressed to Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escuderom, Torreon enumerated several alleged 'anomalous and irregular' instances involving Comelec during the midterm polls.
Among them are the alleged mishandling of election paraphernalia, online voting irregularities, questionable procurement activities, and mismatches between ballot contents and voter receipts.
'Indeed, the 2025 Elections revealed the vulnerabilities and statutory gaps in our current automated elections system,' the letter read.
Of the 12-man PDP Laban senatorial slate, five candidates won in the last elections, namely Senators Ronald dela Rosa, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, Camille Villar, and Imee Marcos.
"While we celebrate the victory of our peers here in the new Senate, we also cannot in good conscience turn a blind eye to the frustrating realities that diminish the faith of the Filipino People in our democratic process," added the petitioners in the letter.
Comelec, meanwhile, said it welcomes the possible probe of the Senate.
'We believe a prompt and thorough Senate inquiry will greatly assist the public in understanding the gravity of these issues, and allow the legislature to explore remedial or regulatory measures to ensure that the next elections are secure, transparent, and genuinely reflective of the will of the People,' said Comelec in a statement.
To recall, the PDP Laban in June also filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking for a manual recount of senatorial votes in the 2025 elections.
Comelec chairman George Garcia previously noted that the random manual audit of the automated elections indicated a 99.997% accuracy by the machines used.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) also said it recorded a 99.909% match between the physical and transmitted election returns for the 2025 polls. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
