Leni Robredo says cheating allegations unfair

MANILA, Philippines — Liberal Party (LP) vice presidential candidate Ma. Leonor "Leni" Robredo on Tuesday labeled as unfair insinuations that she is leading in the canvassing because of cheating.

Robredo, the representative of Camarines Sur's third district, said she worked hard to introduce herself to the public as she was a virtual unknown during the start of the campaign period.

"I was in sixth place and I had one percent (in the surveys). My figures climbed slowly and before the end of April, I was statistically tied with Sen. (Ferdinand) Marcos," Robredo said.

"When I was trailing, I never made allegations that the frontrunners were cheating. It would be unfair to make allegations that I cannot substantiate," she added.

Robredo said she is interested to know how cheating can be done in an automated election.

"If there is cheating, I would be the first one to oppose that. For now, I cannot imagine how cheating can take place," the vice presidential candidate said.

"I am interested to know the specific allegation. It seems very hard to cheat because there is almost no human intervention in an automated election," she added.

Earlier, the Marcos camp asked the Commission on Elections and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting to stop the unofficial canvassing of votes, claiming there are glitches that reduced the senator's lead.

The Marcos camp also claimed that the unofficial count should be halted to avoid conflict with the official one.

Robredo is not in favor of stopping the unofficial canvassing, saying it is a way to prevent cheating.

"It would be better to have an independent quick count because it can provide some sort of checks and balance. I do not know the basis of his (Marcos) allegation of cheating," she said.

Robredo said the canvassing results are consistent with the results of pre-election surveys.

"Let me emphasize that there was a point during the quick point that I was the cellar dweller. We were depressed but we did not make unfair accusations. We did not say that Sen. Marcos was cheating. It would be unfair because I won't be able to substantiate it," she added.