Kidapawan City, North Cotabato — Former Agriculture Secretary and gubernatorial candidate Manny Piñol raised concerns Monday night over alleged irregularities in the recently concluded elections, pointing to a vote count in Kidapawan City that he claims exceeded the number of registered voters.
In a public statement, Piñol said that based on partial and unofficial results from the municipal canvassing as of 10 p.m., he trailed incumbent Governor Emmylou “Lala” Mendoza by more than 150,000 votes — a margin he described as “incredible” and inconsistent with pre-election surveys and crowd turnout during his campaign rallies.
“This number is totally incongruous with the public surveys which showed me consistently leading my opponent,” Piñol said, noting the wide gap raised questions about the credibility of the results.
He zeroed in on the voting results in Kidapawan City — his known stronghold — where he garnered 49,407 votes, Mendoza obtained 46,720, and a third candidate received 710. The total of 96,837 votes cast, according to Piñol, surpassed the Commission on Elections’ record of 96,335 registered voters in the city.
“Our lawyers suspect that there could have been a padding of votes,” he said, adding that his legal team will file a petition for a manual count not just in Kidapawan, but also in other towns where survey results previously showed him in the lead.
Piñol said he owes it to his supporters and campaigners to pursue answers. “Until we get a clear explanation of why and how there were more votes than registered voters, we will not give up,” he said.
He ended his statement by calling for a return to manual counting, warning that unless election transparency is ensured, public confidence in electoral outcomes will remain in question.
Comelec officials have yet to respond to Piñol’s claims.