It’s not over yet: Marcos camp says SC only junked one part of poll protest
MANILA, Philippines — The camp of former senator Bongbong Marcos has maintained that the dismissal of his poll protest against Vice President Leni Robredo only deals with its second cause of action and not the entire petition.
In a statement Tuesday from Marcos’ lawyer Vic Rodriguez, he claimed that the Supreme Court (SC) — which is sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) — has yet to dismiss their third cause of action in the poll protest.
Earlier, SC announced that the PET has unanimously dismissed the electoral protest filed by Marcos against Robredo, in connection with PET Case No. 005.
READ: PET dismisses Marcos poll protest vs Robredo
“Based on the official pronouncement made by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal today, the court unanimously voted to dismiss our second cause of action, which is the manual recount and judicial revision,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
“However, as to the issue on how to proceed with our third cause of action, which is the annulment of votes in Mindanao, the Tribunal has yet to decide on the matter,” he added.
Marcos and Robredo squared off in the 2016 presidential elections, where the former lost to the eventual winner in Robredo by a slim margin of over 260,000 votes. Marcos’ second cause of action in the protest involved a recount of votes from three areas he chose — Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.
But PET announced in October 2019 that after the recount, Robredo’s lead even grew in the provinces chosen by Marcos for the recount. This prompted Marcos’ camp to pursue a third cause of action to nullify votes from Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Maguindanao provinces due to alleged discrepancies.
READ: PET: Robredo maintains, increases lead over Marcos
READ: Marcos asks PET to revisit initial recount result
The poll protest spanned over four years, creating some controversies like the Marcos camp’s recent push to inhibit Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the ponente of the decision.
Marcos claimed that Leonen had been biased against him and his family, but SC junked his petition.
READ: Bongbong Marcos asks Justice Leonen to inhibit from poll protest case vs Robredo
READ: VP poll protest: SC junks Marcos, Calida bids to inhibit Leonen
The poll protest also sparked a barrage of allegations thrown against Robredo for allegedly being a “fake” Vice President, even though the recount solidified her lead over Marcos.
However, several government officials, including lawmakers from the minority cluster, have stressed that the SC decision should set aside doubts that Robredo really won in the 2016 elections, even with a small margin.
READ: Dismissal of poll protest should put to rest doubts on VP Robredo’s win — solons
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