logo
House inquiry on over 1,000 alleged election-related anomalies sought

House inquiry on over 1,000 alleged election-related anomalies sought

GMA Network26-05-2025
An inquiry on 1,593 alleged election-related anomalies during the conduct of the May 12, 2025 midterm polls has been sought in the House of Representatives.
Makabayan bloc lawmakers House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel made the call under House Resolution 2291.
They said the supposed anomalies were documented by several election watchdogs such as Kontra Daya, VoteReportPH, National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) and the Computer Professionals Union.
The alleged anomalies include 798 cases involving issues with the Automated Counting Machines (ACMs), 200 cases of illegal campaigning, 144 cases of voter disenfranchisement, and 451 other significant election violations including non-compliance by Board of Election Inspectors, red-tagging, election-related violence and harassment, vote-buying and -selling, tampering of ballots, disinformation, among others.
Likewise, the lawmakers said that the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) used for overseas voting lacked a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), potentially violating Section 6(e) of the Automated Election System law, and disenfranchising voters who could not verify their votes resulting in historically low voter turnout in some overseas regions.
'Beyond technical issues and voter disenfranchisement on election day itself, there have been other election-related issues before, during, and after the elections that have marred the integrity and credibility of the election results,' the resolution read.
In addition, the lawmakers also called out the software version certified by Pro V&V, Inc. v3.4.0 version which was different from the v3.5.0 version installed on ACMs on election day, as well as the initial five million duplicate votes that affected 15,000 precincts and rankings of more than 7,600 candidates later corrected by Comelecby manually providing corrected files hours after transmission started.
'We believe that an investigation should be pursued, and that all persons or agencies that are proven to be complicit must be held accountable for disenfranchising and invalidating the votes and democratic aspirations of millions of Filipino voters,' Kabataan party-list added in a separate statement.
In response, Commission on Elections spokesperson Rex Laudiangco said the poll body stands ready to defend the successful conduct of the 2025 elections.
"Comelec is ready to appear before Congress if and when called upon to lay down facts and showcase the milestones of the most successful, fastest-ever in counting, and transmission of votes, canvassing and proclamations, most peaceful electoral exercise, highest-ever voter turn-out national and local elections in numbers," he said in a statement. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

House used ‘highly immoral maneuver' in VP Sara impeachment
House used ‘highly immoral maneuver' in VP Sara impeachment

GMA Network

time7 hours ago

  • GMA Network

House used ‘highly immoral maneuver' in VP Sara impeachment

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando said the House of Representatives took ''deliberate'' actions to circumvent the one-year bar rule in relation to the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte. Hernando was one of the 13 justices who voted on Friday to strike down the impeachment complaint pending before the Senate, ruling that it violated the constitutional protection against multiple impeachment proceedings against the same official in a single year. According to the SC, the effective termination of the three impeachment complaints following the adjournment of session barred the fourth impeachment complaint, which was endorsed by more than 200 congressmen on February 5. ''[T]he House abused its discretion when it tolerated and approved the Secretary General's act of withholding action on the first three impeachment complaints,'' Hernando said in his concurring opinion. ''The totality of attendant circumstances reveals the true nature of the House's action: to circumvent the one-year bar rule in order to fabricate a superficially legal strategy and make the fourth complaint viable. The move was as clever as it was iniquitous and a prime example of a technically legal but highly immoral maneuver—a mere subterfuge for political gain, for it exploited a weak point in our democratic institutions,'' he added. He said the House Secretary General's argument that the one-year bar rule did not apply since the first three complaints were never referred to the House Committee on Justice was ''an excuse so lame and convenient that it is extremely difficult to ignore the impunity that comes with it.'' However, ''one may take the unpopular perspective that the House of Representatives' seeming inaction on the first three impeachment complaints served as a mantle of protection to VP Duterte and saved her from the burden of having to answer all allegations against her all at once,'' said Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda. Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, for his part, said that Duterte was not given due process in the course of the impeachment proceedings in the House. ''Here, as admitted by the House in their compliance before the Court, VP Sara was not given the opportunity to be heard in relation to the fourth Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate. The House posits that neither the Constitution nor the House Rules imposes any requirement of prior opportunity to be heard,'' Gaerlan said in his concurring opinion. ''[T]he fundamental right to due process applies in all proceedings. Impeachment is not an exception,'' he added. ''[D]ue to the House's violation of VP Sara's right to due process, the fourth Articles of Impeachment is null and void.'' Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez said that while the Constitution allows the direct filing of an impeachment complaint upon the endorsement of at least one-third of all House members, ''this expedited process must not come at the expense of the respondent public official's constitutional rights.'' Both Hernando and Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting opined that the Senate of the 20th Congress, which opens on July 28, could no longer act on the impeachment complaint. Inting said the Articles of Impeachment that were transmitted by the 19th Congress were 'terminated and rendered inefficacious with the expiration of the term of the 19th Congress on June 30, 2025.'' ''I]f the Senate of the 20th Congress is allowed to continue with the trial on the subject impeachment complaint, it would have to proceed based on the Articles of Impeachment by the House that no longer exists,'' he said. ''Such a situation is tantamount to the creation of an irrepealable statute, which is constitutionally impermissible.'' Hernando said the newly elected Congress could not be bound by the actions of the previous Congress. ''The fourth impeachment complaint already transmitted and pending before the Senate of the 19th Congress, as the Senate had already convened as an impeachment court, is likewise terminated by reason of the expiration of the term of the 19th Congress,'' he said. Duterte was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. The charges included allegations of misusing confidential funds and threatening to have Speaker Martin Romualdez, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated if she was killed. The Vice President has denied the allegations. The SC said that it is not absolving Duterte from any of the charges, and an impeachment complaint can still be filed starting February 6, 2026. —VBL, GMA Integrated News

Impeachment cannot be stopped by legal technicalities —House
Impeachment cannot be stopped by legal technicalities —House

GMA Network

time14 hours ago

  • GMA Network

Impeachment cannot be stopped by legal technicalities —House

The impeachment process should not be derailed by legal technicalities, the House of Representatives said Friday. House spokesperson Princess Abante issued the statement in response to the Supreme Court decision declaring the impeachment complaint against the Vice President unconstitutional. 'The House of Representatives has yet to officially receive a copy of the Supreme Court's decision. We will review it with the utmost respect once furnished. That said, we respect the Supreme Court. But our constitutional duty to uphold truth and accountability does not end here,' Abante said. 'Under Article 11, Section 3 of the Constitution, the exclusive power to initiate impeachment rests solely with the House of Representatives. [The] impeachment is a political act rooted in the people's will—no legal technicality should silence it,' she added. Abante said the House's sole authority to initiate an impeachment complaint is firmly grounded on the [2003 Supreme Court decision] Francisco v. House of Representatives. 'The impeachment process is not just a legal mechanism—it is a vital democratic safeguard. To allow judicial interference in the initiation of this process risks undermining the very principle of checks and balances,' Abante said. 'This is not about one person. Ito ay laban para sa karapatan ng taumbayan na maningil ng pananagutan sa gobyerno,' she added. Further, Abante said that the House will exhaust all remedies to protect the independence of Congress and preserve the sanctity of its constitutional role. 'This is not defiance. This is constitutional fidelity. We owe it to the people to be relentless in our duty—because accountability should never be optional, no matter how high the office,' she added. —LDF, GMA Integrated News

Palace: Respect SC decision on VP Sara impeachment, trust our institutions
Palace: Respect SC decision on VP Sara impeachment, trust our institutions

GMA Network

time14 hours ago

  • GMA Network

Palace: Respect SC decision on VP Sara impeachment, trust our institutions

Malacanang on Friday called on Filipinos to respect the Supreme Court decision declaring the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional, even as it clarified that it has yet to read the high tribunal's ruling in full. "We have yet to review the full text of the Supreme Court's decision. We call on everyone to respect the Supreme Court and place their trust in our institutions," said Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro in a statement. "The impeachment process is a matter handled by the legislative and judicial branches, and we recognize their independence in carrying out their constitutional mandates," she added. The SC has ruled unanimously in deeming that the Articles of Impeachment are barred by the one-year rule under Article XI Section 3 paragraph 5 of the Constitution. Moreover, magistrates ruled that the articles violate the right to due process. Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa inhibited while Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh is on leave. The decision was penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen. With this development, the high court cannot acquire jurisdiction over the impeachment proceedings. The SC's ruling is in relation to the consolidated petition filed by Duterte, lawyer Israelito Torreon, and others seeking to declare the Articles of Impeachment against her as null and void. Supreme Court spokesperson Atty. Camille Ting clarified that the high tribunal "is not absolving" Duterte from the charges against her, but added that "any subsequent impeachment complaint" may only be filed starting February 6, 2026. This is a day after the one-year anniversary of House of Representatives impeachment of Duterte, including its endorsement of the fourth complaint that constituted the Articles of Impeachment. The SC decision is immediately executory. However, Ting said the House of Representatives may still file a motion for reconsideration. — VDV, GMA Integrated News

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store