Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia and KOJC leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy 

MANILA, Philippines – Detained Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s request for a manual recount of senatorial votes in the recently-concluded midterm elections require an electoral protest and a legislation. 

This was the clarification of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia who said manual vote recount comes at a cost. 

“Pwede namang magpa-recount ang isang hindi pinalad na kandidato basta magpa-file siya ng protesta. Kapag naproklama na ang isang kandidato for senator, pagkatapos nakapag-oath at nakapag-assume ng kanyang pwesto sa pagiging senador, mawawalan ng jurisdiction ang Comelec and therefore lahat ng issue concerning the election kahit ‘yung pagpapabilang ay pwede lamang i-file sa Senate Electoral Tribunal,” Garcia said in an interview on TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview. 

He highlighted that the process requires legislation which means it would need budgeting. This would be on top of the actual manual recounting which, on the other hand, requires hiring revisors shipment ballot boxes to Manila. 

“Per ballot box has a revision committee. If you are protesting, say, the votes in Basilan, all the ballot boxes in that area must be shipped to Manila before the electoral tribunal. The shipping would also entail cost,” he said. 

Quiboloy who leads the 7-million strong religious group as he claimed in a Senate probe, called for a manual recount after placing only 31st with a vote of 5,577,812 according to the latest Comelec tally. 

“Given the widespread reports of discrepancies in election returns, inconsistent firmware versions, and overvoting issues, Pastor Apollo respectfully calls for a full manual recount of the senatorial votes,” Quiboloy’s legal counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, said.

While any candidate has right to file election protests, this will not stop the proclamation of winning senators on Saturday at the Manila Hotel.