BY DAVE SUAN ALBARADO

Outgoing Tagbilaran City CouncilorMalvin “Atoy” Torralba has yet to concede defeat more than two weeks after the May 12, 2025 elections, where he lost his mayoral bid to incumbent Mayor Jane Yap by over 12,000 votes.

Torralba, who garnered 25,246 votes compared to Yap’s 37,715, insists he is not giving up the fight.

Tagbilaran City has over 74,000 registered voters, with more than 62,000 participating in the May 12 elections.

The Yap-Torralba matchup was considered one of the most heated mayoral races in Tagbilaran in recent years, with issues exchanged between camps stirring intense debate, especially on social media.

Despite Yap being proclaimed winner and set to serve a second term, Torralba has filed an election protest seeking a manual recount of the votes.

Backed by Bohol Gov. ArisAumentado and outgoing 1st District Rep. Atty. Edgar Chatto, Torralba said the protest intends to address issues raised by his supporters about alleged discrepancies in the vote count.

He said the manual recount would determine whether the earlier results truly reflect the will of the people.

MAYOR JANE REACTS

City Mayor Jane Cajes-Yap said she respects her opponent’s petition for a manual recount, as the defeated challenger continues to question the integrity of election results more than two weeks after the vote.

Cajes-Yap said she acknowledges the right of former councilorMalvin “Atoy” Torralba to seek a manual recount through the Commission on Elections (Comelec) following his significant loss in the May 12 mayoral race.

“I am not denying victory to the winners of the election, but I want to put the issues and doubts to rest as there have been a lot of questions surfacing and allegations of discrepancies,” Torralba said.

He noted that suffrage is “a sovereign right of the people” and questioned election integrity could have serious consequences.

Yap achieved a decisive victory that extended beyond the mayoral race. Her entire slate secured a clean sweep, winning all council positions in what local observers called a “15-0 victory.” Vice Mayor Adam Jala, running under Yap’s ticket, also won reelection.

As Comelec has yet to decide on the manual recount petition, Mayor Yap urged the public to avoid engaging with fake news and speculation, particularly on social media platforms.

Torralba’s petition is one of the calls for manual recounts in several locations following the recent Philippine midterm elections.

DOUBTS AND MYSTERY

Atty. Jordan Pizzaras, who ran unsuccessfully for Bohol’s 1st District congressional seat, has posted allegations on social media questioning the national election process, including claims about COMELEC’s handling of vote transmission and source code transparency.

Pizzaras alleged that the commission deviated from required procedures by routing election data through unauthorized servers, causing transmission delays.

“The COMELEC violated the law (RA 9369),” Pizzaras wrote in a social media post, claiming the commission failed to follow proper data transmission protocols and delayed results by one hour and 45 minutes due to alleged data manipulation.

COMELEC officials have not publicly responded to these specific allegations.

The commission routinely faces post-election scrutiny and legal questions following Philippine elections.

Manual recounts in Philippine elections typically require petitioners to demonstrate substantial evidence of irregularities that could affect election outcomes.

The Comelec has not announced a timeline for reviewing Torralba’s petition or addressed the allegations raised by other candidates.