MANILA, Philippines – The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday expressed disappointment but assured to respect the decision of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to deny her motion for immediate resolution of the election protest filed against her by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“We are extremely disappointed, but we fully respect the Presidential Electoral Tribunal’s decision to deny our motion for an immediate resolution in connection with the election protest of losing candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” Robredo’s legal counsel, Atty. Ma. Bernadette Sardillo, said in a statement released on Thursday.
Robredo’s camp, however, pointed out that this development should not be claimed as a victory by Marcos.
Sardillo said the PET only put its decision on hold to await confirmation of the recount results from the three pilot provinces.
“Marcos cannot claim victory as the PET only put its decision on hold to validate and confirm the results of the recount from the three pilot provinces,” she said.
“In addition, the PET also puts on hold the request of the Marcoses for annulment, which is in accordance with its rules,” she added.
The Supreme Court – sitting as PET – in its July 2 resolution said it found Robredo’s motion “premature” as her lawyers have claimed that her victory in the 2016 vice-presidential elections had been confirmed by the manual recount of votes from Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental.
The court said the figures submitted by Robredo’s legal team are “merely speculative,” noting that “the Tribunal has yet to complete the proceedings involved in the protest, which entails judicial recount, revision, and appreciation of the votes cast” in pilot provinces identified by Marcos.
But Sardillo maintained, their motion was anchored on the fact that Marcos has not proven anything in his protest against Robredo’s victory.
“In fact, VP Leni has gained additional votes from the recount,” she said.
The lawyer added that Robredo pushed for the immediate resolution of the case to prevent Marcos’ camp “from spreading misinformation and propaganda to deceive the public about the genuine results of the 2016 elections, which they have been doing from the beginning of this process.”
Robredo’s camp also expressed confidence that in the end, the vice president will be vindicated and victory will be confirmed.
Marcos’ camp, meanwhile, said they are very pleased with the court resolution, saying it “finally put an end to Robredo’s fallacious claim of victory.”
“She should stop misleading the public with her impetuous pronouncements,” Vic Rodriguez, Marcos’ spokesman said in a statement.
The post Robredo camp says PET denial of bid to end poll protest ‘not a victory’ for Marcos appeared first on UNTV News.