Robredo asks SC to deny Marcos’ bid to examine voting records in 3 more provinces

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday asked the Supreme Court sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to deny the bid of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to conduct a technical examination of voting records in three provinces in Mindanao where alleged massive cheating took place during the 2016 elections.

Marcos, in his extremely urgent motion of grave concern with omnibus motion, wants PET to order the Voters Identification Division of the Commission on Elections–Election Records and Statistics Department (Comelec ERSD) to produce the documents involving its technical examination on the Voters Registration Records (VRRs) as against Election Day Computerized Voter’s List (EDCVL) of 508 established precincts in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan.

Marcos is also asking the PET to investigate all concerned chairmen and members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) who served in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan and determine their involvement and participation in the incidence of substituted voting in the said provinces.

Moreover, he wants the PET to order Comelec to conduct a technical examination on the signatures and/or thumbprints appearing on the VRRs and EDVCLS of the entire 2,756 protested clustered precincts of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan.

But Robredo, through her counsel, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Marcos is trying to unduly expand his pilot provinces from three to six.

Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan are among provinces cited by Marcos in his election protest as second cause of action due to reported massive electoral fraud and irregularities.

The recount of votes in the said provinces, however, would only happen once the ongoing vote recount in the pilot provinces would confirm massive cheating.

“Protestant Marcos is bound by his choice. His election protect will rise or fall on his designated pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental,” Robredo’s camp said.

Robredo has claimed that Marcos filed the motion in a bid to save his “dying election protest.” /ee