The Supreme Court has directed the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to submit their comments regarding a motion for intervention that raises integrity concerns over the conduct of the 2025 elections.
The directive was issued by the en banc in a notice dated April 15, 2026. Under the resolution, COMELEC Chairperson George Erwin Garcia and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo are given a 10-day deadline to file their respective responses to the motion, which was lodged by the National People’s Initiative Council Committee (NPICC) and God’s People’s Initiative.
The intervention formally backs the primary petition originally lodged on April 3, 2025, by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), represented by its National Vice Chairperson and former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and counsel Israelito Torreon.
In its initial filing, PDP-Laban sought to halt internet voting for overseas Filipinos. The political party argued that Republic Act No. 9369, also known as the Election Automation Law, strictly requires a manual count of ballots alongside the automated tabulation of votes.
Following the midterms, the party escalated its legal challenge on June 13, 2025, by submitting a supplemental petition demanding a manual recount of the senatorial race due to suspected manipulation of the election outcomes.
Expanding on the original grievance, the NPICC’s motion for intervention additionally asked the high tribunal to implead Senator Imee Marcos in her capacity as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The group is urging her to convene the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to look into the purported failure of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Furthermore, the NPICC is pushing for a formal inquiry into the alleged infringement on the rights of overseas voters, emphasizing that the provision of the mandatory VVPAT, commonly referred to as the voting “receipt,” is an absolute safeguard mandated under the Automated Elections Law.