Marcos asks PET to junk Robredo petition on ballot shading threshold

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos files his comment on the threshold petition of Vice President Leni Robredo. PHOTO by Tetch Torres-Tupas / INQUIRER.net

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday asked the Supreme Court sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to dismiss the petition filed by Vice President Leni Robredo to follow the Commission on Election (Comelec) threshold for shading of ballots.

Marcos personally submitted his comment to Robredo’s petition where he maintained that the PET should stand by its April 10, 2018 resolution denying the use of the 25 percent threshold.

The threshold percentage is designed to scan every oval on the ballot and count as vote those that contain appropriate marks based on pre-determined sharing threshold. Although the voters are told through the voter information to fully shade the ballots, the shading threshold validated ballot that met the percentage requirement. Comelec said the purpose is to ensure that votes are not wasted due to inadequate shading.

“Di ko maintindihan kung bakit sa gitna ng recount dapat nating palitan ang rules sa nakaraang tatlong halalan para lang sa aking katunggali (I can’t understand why we have to change the rules that governed three previous elections for my political foe amidst the ongoing recount,” Marcos told reporters after he filed his comment.

In the same comment, Marcos also asked the PET to nullify the Robredo camp’s request for the segregation of ballots with threshold issues and its supplemental instructions because he said it has no basis and will only cause undue delay in the recount and revision proceedings. /au