Vice President Leni Robredo expects the dismissal of the election protest she is facing before the Supreme Court after the results of its ballot recount showed she gained more votes over her rival former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Robredo welcomed the vice presidential recount results while she was in Mercedes, Camarines Norte yesterday to visit a fisherfolk community for the turnover of various assistance to them.
“Iyong pinagtatalunan, pinapalabas na talo kami sa recount, pinapalabas ang kung ano-anong kasinungalingan. The fact na nilabas na ito ng PET, masaya kami na napakita ano ba talaga iyong nangyari,” she said.
Prior to this, the Vice President already tweeted her sentiment when the results of the recount came out. “This proves who was telling the truth and who was lying,” Robredo, a lawyer, said.
Robredo said Marcos knew he lost in the pilot provinces because they had their own “watchers” during the recount.
“Even before ilabas ito ng Supreme Court, mayroon na silang resulta kasi mayroon na silang mga representatives doon sa recount at alam nila na lalo pang lumamang iyong boto ko,” she said. “So para bahiran nila ng pagdududa iyong Supreme Court, kasalanan nila iyon,” Robredo added.
Citing Rule 65 of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, Robredo stressed that Marcos protest should be dismissed. She echoed her lawyers’ call to the Tribunal not to change the rules in the “middle of the game.”
The Supreme Court, sitting as PET, last Friday revealed that Robredo gained even more votes in the recount of ballots for the 2016 vice presidential elections in the pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.
In a resolution released Friday night, the PET said that “based on the final tally after revision and appreciation of the votes in the pilot provinces, protestee (Robredo) maintained, as in fact she increased, her lead with 14,436,337 votes over protestant Marcos who obtained 14, 157,771 votes.”
“After the revision and appreciation, the lead of protestee Robredo increased from 263,473 to 278,566,” the PET said.
The PET conducted the recount based on the second out of three cause of action sought by Marcos in the electoral protest he filed against Robredo. Marcos himself picked the pilot provinces which should undergo recount. (Raymund Antonio and Jeffrey Damicog)
