PAMPANGA MAYORAL BET FILES POLL PROTEST

BY KEVIN GALANG

SAN Fernando City, Pampanga mayoral candidate Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab on Thursday filed a complaint before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) calling for a manual recount of votes in the city over alleged election irregularities.

Attorney Arnold Bayobay and attorney Jeffrey Joseph Miranda, legal counsels of Pineda-Cayabyab, filed the election protest before the Comelec in Intramuros, Manila.

Bayobay said Pineda-Cayabyab is challenging the results of the May 12, 2025 mayoral elections in San Fernando City.

He said Pineda-Cayabyab is seeking a manual recount of all ballots cast in the 239 precincts in the city.

According to the legal counsels, Pineda-Cayabyab’s supporters and many of the people of San Fernando  expressed belief that the election results do not accurately reflect the votes of the residents of the city.

Pineda-Cayabyab’s camp questioned what they described as highly- improbable result of the election in San Fernando City.

The legal counsels said it was unlikely that with the outpouring of support for their client,  Pineda-Cayabyab and her partymates did not win even a single precinct.

They said Pineda-Cayabyab’s supporters suspected irregularity in the results of the local polls, claiming as a proof the over 13,000 sworn affidavits from voters in the city.

The voters complained of pre-shaded ballots while some reported different results from the votes they cast.

Some of the supporters also said they noticed suspicious figures in the final counting of votes.

“Nung sa 13 barangay pa lang ang pumapasok sa boto, ang score ay 72-28 percent. Nung 24 barangays na ang score ay 72-28 percent pa rin. Nang 33 barangays na ang pumasok na boto ay 72-28 percent pa rin, na napaka-imposible,” a supporter of Pineda-Cayabyab said.

The supporter, who requested anonymity, said the same result also affected the votes cast for Pineda-Cayabyab’s vice mayoral tandem, BJ Tiger Lagman, and the councilor bets under their Kambilan political party.

He said it was highly-impossible that not even one in the list of councilors under Pineda-Cayabyab’s ticket won in the recent city polls.

“So, their  (opponents) claim of 12-0 is also statistically improbable,” the supporter said.

Meanwhile, Pineda-Cayabyab said the filing of the electoral protest is to provide clarity on the “surprising” election results and to listen to the request of the Fernandinos.

“Tayo ay naghain ng protesta sa Comelec 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,” Pineda –Cayabyab said.

“Hindi po pwedeng hindi ako gumawa ng legal na hakbang sa usaping ito,” she added.

Pineda-Cayabyab said her request for a manual recount of votes is part of the election process and democracy in our country.

“’Wag po natin sana itong masamain,” she said.

“Gayundin po, obligasyon rin po natin na siguruhing mabilang ng tama ang lahat ng mga boto ng ating mga kababayan,” she noted, adding that they will wait for the decision of the Commission on the matter.

Pineda-Cayabyab, a former Pampanga Board member, is the daughter of Pampanga Vice Governor Lilia Pineda and the sister of Governor Dennis Pineda.

She was defeated by incumbent Mayor Vilma Caluag.

According to official and final results, Caluag received 127,124 votes while Cayabyab got 49,061 votes.

In addition to the manual recount, Pineda-Cayabyab is also asking for the immediate preservation of election documents and digital data, including vote counting machines and SD cards, to protect potential evidence and ensure transparency.

Separate election protests were also filed by Kristel “Ato” Agustin and Tin “Kings” Chua, who both ran as councilors under Kambilan.