Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday cast doubt on the results of the recent midterm elections, suggesting that several senatorial candidates from her slate were wrongfully denied victory.
Speaking during the Philippine Independence Day celebration, Duterte named Jayvee Villanueva Hinlo, Jr., Jimmy Bondoc, and Richard Mata as the supposed rightful winners of Senate seats.
“Tapos na naman ang kampanya, totoo yun, pero bakit nandito si Atty. Hinlo, Atty. Bondoc, Atty. Mata? Kasi po para sa akin at alam kong totoo, nanalo po sila sa eleksyon noong nakaraan,” Duterte declared.
She revealed that she had consulted with information technology (IT) experts about the electoral process. According to Duterte, these unnamed experts expressed skepticism over the official poll results, particularly the accuracy of the transmitted numbers.
“Kausap ko po IT experts na nagsasabi hindi talaga pwede na totoo yung mga numero na lumabas. Hindi po ako IT expert kaya sinabihan ko po ang PDP, sabi ko kayo ang partido, kwestyunin niyo kung paano ginawa ang proseso ng bilangan,” she said, urging the PDP Laban party to formally question the conduct of the elections.
The Vice President’s concerns also stemmed from patterns she observed in the 2022 national elections, where she won as vice president. She emphasized the significance of the overseas absentee votes and the OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) vote, claiming they were strong indicators of a candidate’s true support.
“Karanasan ko po noong 2022, una ko pong nalaman na baka manalo ako bilang VP dahil una pong lumabas ang absentee voting, ang OFW vote, nakita ko po doon ang panalo ko,” she explained.
She added that Hinlo, Bondoc, and Mata had similarly performed well among OFWs and absentee voters, further fueling her belief that they should have secured Senate seats.
“Ganun po ang nangyari sa kanila… Kaya po naniniwala talaga ako, sila ay ating mga senators,” Duterte said, referencing her campaign strategy and belief in a 10-man senatorial win for her team.
As of writing, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has not released an official response to Vice President Duterte’s statements.