Women supporters to appeal fundraiser for Leni’s poll protest

MANILA, Philippines - Women supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo will appeal today the Supreme Court (SC) recent ruling rejecting their plea to help pay the remaining fee for her counter-electoral protest against former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The group, composed of former The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) award recipients, will file a motion for reconsideration before the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), at 9:30 a.m.

The petitioners include former social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman, former human rights commissioner Paulynn Sicam, Museo Pambata founder Cristina Lim-Yuson, former Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer Zorayda Amelia Alonzo, award-winning singer Celeste Legaspi-Gallardo and Ateneo de Manila University Press director Karina Bolasco.

The group will also hold a press conference in Manila after filing the motion for reconsideration.

The group launched the online fundraising campaign “Piso para sa Laban ni Leni” last July 4 in a bid to help Robredo pay for the remaining P7.4-million fee for her counterprotest.

As of Aug. 15, the “Piso para sa Laban ni Leni” fundraiser had raised nearly P7 million.

The TOWNS awardees expressed disappointment over the SC ruling, saying it denied them of their right to protect their votes for Robredo in the May 2016 elections.

They said the PET decision did not even explain the basis for the denial.

If their motion for reconsideration is granted by the PET, they will deposit the money directly to the SC’s account and not to Robredo’s.