Bongbong to blame for delay in poll protest – Robredo camp

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS)

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. should blame himself for the delay in the resolution of his “weak and flawed” election protest, the camp of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo said on Monday.

“He only has to blame himself for filing a weak and flawed election protest that the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) has to resolve many preliminary matters before the case could move on,” Robredo’s legal counsel, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said in a statement.

Macalintal issued the statement in reaction to Marcos’ repeated claims of delay in his election protest. He said Marcos’ claim is “baseless and self-serving.”

“It was Marcos who first asked the PET to first resolve the issue of defective election system and his vaunted claim that he would be presenting voluminous documents and evidence to prove his case,” Macalintal pointed out.

Almost one year after the first preliminary hearing, Macalintal said Marcos agreed to dismiss the issue on regularity of the automated election system and waived the presentation of his alleged voluminous evidence.

He also said that Marcos’ claim that the PET was “in favor” of Robredo, was “a mere ploy or strategy to preempt the would-be results of the recount of the ballots.”

“No election protest involving the automated polls since 2010 to the present has been successfully pursued and Marcos is fully aware of this situation, thus his claim of bias of the PET in favor of Robredo as he could not indeed accept defeat in good grace,” Macalintal asserted.

Macalintal said they expect the PET to start the recount of ballots from the province of Camarines Sur in the second week of February.

Meanwhile, in a radio interview, Robredo’s other legal counsel, Maria Bernadette Sardillo, expressed confidence that the recount will affirm the victory of the proclaimed Vice President in the 2016 elections.

“Sa panig ni Vice President Robredo, we are very confident na pagkatapos po na mabuksan at mabilang ang mga balota mula sa tatlong probinsya ay madi-dismiss ang protesta,” said Sardillo, referring to Marcos’ pilot provinces – Negros Oriental, Iloilo, and Camarines Sur.

The namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. has accused the former Camarines Sur lawmaker of cheating after he lost by over 230,000 votes to Robredo.

Robredo had repeatedly denied the allegations of Marcos Jr.                        /kga