Protesters stormed the offices of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Palacio del Gobernador building in Intramuros, Manila, today following news of an impending victory for Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the presidential election. Demonstrations were spurred by a plethora of reports regarding electoral mishaps taking place during yesterday’s polls.
Earlier today, partial and unofficial results showed Marcos Jr. with 30,582,777 votes, while Vice President Leni Robredo earned 14,584,862 votes.
While Marcos Jr’s election win seems statistically inevitable, many Filipinos are protesting the results due to widespread reports of malfunctioning vote-counting machines, harassment at polling stations, and voters lining up for over 12 hours waiting for their ballots to be cast.
Various groups convened near the election commission’s office and chanted “Never again to Martial Law,” while decrying Marcos Jr. and running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as well as Comelec. Fully armed police officers barricaded the entrance of the poll body’s headquarters.
Frankie “Kakie” Pangilinan, daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo’s running mate Kiko Pangilinan, was present at the protest.
“They said we have to accept defeat, that we don’t know how to lose,” she told AlterMidya. “I think the truth is that this is not about just this election anymore. The data shows clearly that this election was bought a long, long time ago. And that’s something we will not take sitting down. I’m not going to have my president named Ferdinand Marcos again.”
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