Leni accepts Bongbong’s challenge to hasten recount
“We accept the challenge of Mr. Marcos and his lawyer to sign a joint motion to withdraw any and all pending motions and incidents at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal which may cause the delay of the recount of ballots from the pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental,” Robredo’s lead counsel Romulo Macalintal said. Geremy Pintolo
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday accepted the challenge of former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to sign a joint motion asking the Supreme Court to withdraw all pending motions that delay the recount of ballots in connection with Marcos’ electoral protest.
“We accept the challenge of Mr. Marcos and his lawyer to sign a joint motion to withdraw any and all pending motions and incidents at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal which may cause the delay of the recount of ballots from the pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental,” Robredo’s lead counsel Romulo Macalintal said.
Macalintal invited Marcos and his lawyer to sign the joint motion at 9 a.m. today.
“This is to confirm that we are not causing the delay in the recount of ballots. It is Mr. Marcos’ raising of baseless allegations and irrelevant issues that is causing the delay in the recount,” he said.
Marcos signed yesterday a joint motion informing everyone that he and Robredo will be “withdrawing any and all motions and incidents that may unduly delay or hamper the election proceedings” currently pending before the Presidential Election Tribunal (PET).”
“I’ve done everything possible to speed up this election protest. At this point, the only thing left is for Mrs. Robredo to sign the document. We are waiting,” Marcos said.
On Sunday, Marcos’ spokesperson Victor Rodriguez said they have been instructed by the former senator to draft a joint motion withdrawing their outstanding motions in order to hasten the recount for his election protest.
Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental are the three contested pilot provinces up for recount.
Macalintal earlier said Robredo has no motion pending before the PET that would delay the recount.
He said Marcos is afraid of the recount since it will just confirm the results tallied by the vote counting machines in May 2016, which the former senator claimed was marred by fraud.
Robredo defeated Marcos, son and namesake of the late dictator, by a slim margin of 263,473 votes.
Maria Bernadette Sardillo, also Robredo’s legal counsel, said Marcos’ challenge “is pure PR because we don’t have any pending motion.”
“Again, another publicity stunt; another day of revising history and confusing the public – Marcosian tactics indeed,” Sardillo said in a statement.
Sardillo said Marcos is the one who has a pending motion before the PET.
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