Outgoing Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco said Saturday, May 24, that he has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct a manual recount of votes in his province after losing by a narrow 400-vote deficit in the gubernatorial race.
Velasco seeks manual recount of votes after losing Marinduque gubernatorial race
At A Glance
- Outgoing Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco said Saturday, May 24, that he has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct a manual recount of votes in his province after losing by a narrow 400-vote deficit in the gubernatorial race.
Velasco in a statement said he filed a formal appeal before the poll body to conduct a manual recount of votes "not only for the benefit of Marinduque province, but also for a broader purpose that will benefit the Filipinos".
Velasco, who received 65,726 votes according to the Comelec's canvassed result, lost against Governor-elect Mel Go, who garnered 66,115 votes.
The defeated congressman, who formerly served as a House speaker, says that while a random manual audit is ongoing, he cannot trust its accuracy.
"Ilan lang ba ang presinto? Paano ito pinili? Sapat ba ang dami upang magsilbing representasyon ng integridad ng buong automated election system? (How many polling precincts are there? How are they selected? Are they enough to prove and represent the integrity of the whole automated election system?)" he asked.
"Kung nais nating tunay na masubok ang katapatan at pagiging maaasahan ng sistemang ito na ipinatupad ng Comelec, ang nararapat ay isang mas malawak na saklaw ng manual recount, hindi lamang ilang piling presinto, kundi buong lalawigan. At kung kailangan ng isang pilot area para rito, bukas ang Lalawigan ng Marinduque (If we really want to challenge the honesty of Comelec, we must ask for a manual recount, not only of selected precinct, but of the whole province. And if we need a pilot area to do this, the province of Marindque is open to hosting it)," he added.
Velasco says his appeal is not only for him, but for all Filipinos who want a real, clean and trustworthy elections.
"Dapat itong magpakita ng 100% accuracy o isang mataas na antas ng katiyakan na karapat-dapat sa tiwala ng mamamayan (It must show a 100 percent accuracy rate, or the highest level of assurance that the people deserve to see)," he said.