Manila: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced its support for a petition submitted by a political party to the Supreme Court, requesting a manual recount of senatorial votes from the May 12 elections. Comelec Chairperson George Garcia affirmed the commission's openness to this initiative, stating, "We welcome these remedies to prove the real mandate of the electorate," while emphasizing the need to await the Supreme Court's decision on the matter.

According to Philippines News Agency, Garcia highlighted that Comelec's jurisdiction over the senatorial candidates will end on June 30. After this date, the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) and the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) will have authority over electoral disputes involving senators and congressmen, respectively. Garcia explained, "After being proclaimed, sworn in, and assumes office on June 30, according to the Supreme Court, the Comelec or any other court will no longer have jurisdiction because the wording used is that it is the HRET or SET shall be the sole judge of all elections, returns, qualifications of the members of the House of Representatives or Senate."

He further clarified that any issues or contests related to the election of a senator or congressman must be addressed by the SET or HRET, leaving no room for Comelec or even the Supreme Court to intervene. The petition advocating for a manual recount of the senatorial votes was filed by the PDP-Laban party earlier this week.