Former City of San Fernando mayoral candidate Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab’s camp officially filed an electoral protest before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Main Office in Intramuros, Manila, May 22, in hopes for a manual recount.

Atty. Josep Jepri Miranda, legal counsel for Pineda-Cayabyab, said the protest calls for a manual review of all ballots from the city’s 239 precincts following alleged irregularities in the recent national and local midterm elections.

“We are asking for a manual recount ‘no, because we believe na hindi nare-reflect doon sa eleksyon ang tunay na boto ng mga Fernandinos,” Miranda stated.

“But it is really possible that there have been some actions perpetrated by individuals to really hijack the results of the election. Kaya maraming nagreklamo eh,” he continued. 

He added that the protest is backed by around 13,000 voter affidavits, with numerous residents reporting discrepancies between their votes and the outputs from automated counting machines (ACMs).

“Tayo ay naghain ng protesta sa COMELEC ngayong araw na ‘to para mabigyan ng linaw at mabigyan ng kasagutan ang mga katanungan, mabigyang-linaw ang mga nakapagtatakang resulta sa halalan at para pakinggan ang hiling ng ating mga supporters at maraming Fernandino na kumpirmahin ang lumabas na resulta sa halalan,” said Pineda-Cayabyab in her statement.

“Sana po ay maintindihan ninyo na bilang kumandidatong Mayor sa San Fernando, meron po tayong karapatan na dumulog sa COMELEC para mapagbigyan ang hinihingi nating Manual Recount of Votes,” she continued, adding that she could not ignore the issue and hoped that her protest would not be taken negatively. 

Pineda-Cayabyab garnered 49,061 votes in the May 12 polls — losing to re-electionist Vilma Caluag who secured 127,124 votes.

Caluag responds to protest, defends electoral integrity

In response to the protest, Mayor Caluag acknowledged her opponent’s right to question the election results through legal means.

However, Caluag also deemed the electoral results to be “okay” on her end, citing her electoral campaign as “organic and not scripted” and called Fernandinos “wise voters.”

“But then again, itang opponent tamu eya convinced ketang makanyan, karapatan na itang magfile yang makanta. Kasi aliwa naku man ing makukuwestiyon da kanita, ing makukuwestiyon ka rin ing integridad na ning COMELEC,” she added.

(But then again, our opponent is not convinced with the results, it’s her right to file for a protest. Because it’s not me being questioned in that, but the integrity of COMELEC.)

Moreover, she addressed questions regarding potential irregularities in the conduct of the local elections, firmly stating there was nothing to doubt.

“Uling ating incident a yaku binotu da, lilwal aliwa. So right there and there, migwrite kaming protest ya ba ita? Keta mismung school, ali kami after,”  the mayor said, referring to an incident in Barangay Saguin that was immediately addressed during the voting period.

(There was an incident where they voted for me, but a different name appeared. So right there and there, we wrote a protest — right at the school, not afterward.)

Caluag also affirmed that her camp has no power to manipulate the elections, stating, “Balu da na ala tamung kapasidad mamurayit, at balu da ring tau ninung ating kapasidad mamurayit. Aliwa pu tamu ita.”

(People know that we don’t have the capacity to cheat — they also know who does. And it’s not us.)

She noted that her legal team will await official directives from COMELEC before taking any formal action on Pineda-Cayabyab’s protest.