CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will begin the manual recount of votes for the mayoral race in this Pampanga capital on February 2, following an election protest filed by former mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab after the May 12, 2025 elections.
In a six-page order dated January 26, the Comelec First Division directed its Judicial Records Section to retrieve the ballots from 48 pilot protested precincts cited in the protest. These precincts represent 20 percent of the 239 clustered precincts in San Fernando.
The order, signed by Presiding Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, sets the recount schedule from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, until all ballots are fully recounted by five recount committees formed by the Division.
Comelec said the protest was found “sufficient in form and content” under its rules, citing sworn and notarized affidavits from voters and watchers detailing alleged fraud and irregularities in the contested precincts.
The Division also ordered Pineda-Cayabyab to deposit P617,000 to cover recount expenses.
Pineda-Cayabyab filed the election protest on May 22, 2025, challenging the results that declared Vilma Balle-Caluag the winner with 127,124 votes, more than double Pineda-Cayabyab’s 49,061 votes.
Balle-Caluag earlier maintained that the protest was insufficient in both form and substance. She did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Comelec said the ballots are currently “securely stored” at its office in Intramuros, Manila.
Pineda-Cayabyab, a former provincial board member and former mayor of Lubao, questioned Balle-Caluag’s reelection along with her entire slate, which reportedly achieved a 12-straight win — a result some critics have described as “statistically improbable.”
(CTTO)
