Comelec Dismisses Garcia Election Protest Against Baricuatro

Governor Pamela Baricuatro’s win in the 2025 Cebu gubernatorial race remains unchallenged after the Commission on Elections dismissed an election protest filed by former Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Garcia had contested the May 12, 2025, National and Local Elections, alleging electronic fraud, vote padding, malfunctioning automated counting machines, and high numbers of undervotes and overvotes.

Baricuatro, a former flight attendant, won by 342,873 votes and assumed office on June 30.

In a ruling released on November 24, the Comelec First Division found that Garcia’s protest lacked proper form and sufficient evidence.

The Commission noted that the protest did not specify which precincts were affected and did not explain how the alleged irregularities could have changed the election outcome.

Comelec clarified that undervotes, when voters do not select a candidate, and overvotes, when voters cast more votes than allowed, do not automatically indicate fraud.

The Commission added that even if all contested votes were credited to Garcia, they would not have been enough to overcome Baricuatro’s lead.

The Commission also highlighted the lack of supporting documentation.

Of the 4,120 contested clustered precincts, only a few affidavits were submitted, mainly from Tudela, Talisay, Minglanilla, and San Fernando. Most of the province’s 46 cities and municipalities provided no affidavits or evidence.

Comelec emphasized that generalized accusations without concrete proof do not meet the standards required for an election protest.

Earlier in June, Garcia raised concerns during a meeting with mayors and vice mayors, claiming that technical problems during the election, including software malfunctions, may have affected the results.

She alleged that votes meant for her were incorrectly credited to Baricuatro and pointed to 163,796 undervotes and 18,415 overvotes in the gubernatorial race across the province.

She also noted that voters in remote barangays questioned how Baricuatro, a relatively unknown candidate, could have won by such a wide margin.