Vice President Sara Duterte asserted on Thursday, June 12, that three more senatorial candidates from the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) slate were deprived of victories in the recent 2025 elections due to alleged poll fraud. Speaking at an Independence Day celebration with Filipinos in Kuala Lumpur, Duterte named lawyers Jimmy Bondoc and Jayvee Hinlo, along with Dr. Richard Mata, as those who should have secured Senate seats.

The Vice President’s claim comes after only Senators Bong Go and Ronald Dela Rosa, and SAGIP party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, from the administration-backed “Duter10” candidates, entered the winning circle in the recent polls.

“The campaign is over, that’s true. But why are Attorney Hinlo, Attorney Bondoc, and Doctor Mata here? Because for me, and I know this to be true, they won the last elections,” Duterte stated in her remarks to the Filipino community.

Duterte explained that her belief was rooted in the strong performance of the trio in absentee voting, particularly among Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), where they garnered significant support. She drew a parallel to her own experience in the 2022 Vice Presidential race, where early absentee and OFW votes similarly signaled her eventual victory.

“I spoke to IT (information technology) experts who said it was impossible that the numbers that came out are true,” Duterte added, though she did not immediately provide specific proof for her claims beyond her statements. She has urged the PDP party to formally challenge the counting process. “I’m not an IT expert, that’s why I told PDP. I told them, you’re the party, you should question how the counting process was done,” she detailed.

Official election results show Jimmy Bondoc ranking 17th with over 10.5 million votes, Jayvee Hinlo at 26th with 7.4 million votes, and Dr. Richard Mata placing 30th with 5.7 million votes.

In contrast to Duterte’s allegations, poll watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) had previously stated that the 2025 elections had “enough safeguards to the system.”