Vice President Leni Robredo answers questions after the Supreme Court ordered the release of a committee report on the initial recount of the Marcos poll protest. Photo by Gabriel Pabico Lalu/ INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo has shot down former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ allegations that she robbed him of the vice presidency, saying that between the two of them, it is her who does not have the tendency to steal.
“It’s funny that he is the one saying it. Because between the two of us, it’s not me who has a habit of robbing,” Robredo said in a press briefing on Tuesday, after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the release of the initial recount results of Marcos’ poll protest.
“All of what I have achieved were results of hard work. I do not have fake diplomas, I don’t release fake news. He should not say those things because between the two of us, I know that I am not the robber,” she added.
Robredo also maintained that she is the only true vice president of the country, as she was rightfully proclaimed by Congress.
“The elections are finished, I have been proclaimed by Congress. From the results of the Comelec, Congress has proclaimed me as the winner. After the recount, I also won,” Robredo said.
“How many victories do I need for him to believe that he never won the elections?” she asked.
Robredo’s statements were a shade against the Marcoses, who have been accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth back when Marcos’ father, late strongman and former President Ferdinand Marcos, ruled for more than two decades.
Several assets including artworks and cash in banks taken by the Marcos family have been recovered by the government, and these were given as financial grants to victims of abuses during the Marcos patriarch’s martial law regime.
In November 2018, former first lady Imelda Marcos was convicted of seven counts of graft after she transferred money to foreign accounts while occupying several government offices.
Shots about having fake diplomas meanwhile stem from Bongbong Marcos’ claim that he graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, whereas the university itself clarified that he only got a “special diploma.”
READ: In defense of Bongbong Marcos and his Oxford fantasy
When asked if how she was feeling after the SC’s decision, Robredo said she was quite relieved that the case would continue, but at the same time frustrated because it was not yet dismissed.
“Maybe half-relieved,” Robredo said. “Relieved because the committee report would be made public, as it is important to make details transparent so people would know who between us is lying.”
“But I am frustrated that it is not yet dismissed, because our belief has been, that there is no other way but to dismiss the protest, considering their own rules, and considering the results of the recount,” she added.
After the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), gave the order, Marcos said he was relieved that the protest continues, saying that Robredo has already stolen three of his six-year-term as “proper” vice president.
Marcos lost to Robredo in the 2016 national elections by around 280,000 votes. He then lodged a protest, claiming he was cheated and robbed by around four million votes.
However, Robredo insisted that there is no other way for the case but to be dismissed, as Rule 65 of the 2010 PET rules states that poll protests should be dismissed once the protestant fail to recover a substantial number of votes in the three pilot provinces. /jpv
RELATED STORIES:
With no substantial recovery, Marcos now wants recount of other areas–Robredo
Robredo prods PET to release initial recount results to avoid speculations
On Marcos poll protest: Stand by your rules, Robredo urges PET