MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon believes the Comelec can't do a recount even after appeals being hurled by the camp of vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a press conference at the Philippine International Convention Center, Guanzon addressed the cheating allegations raised by Marcos's followers along with the voting transmission queries rampant in social media.
"Recount? I don't think we can recount," Guanzon told reporters Wednesday noon. "If he can give substantial evidence of fraud, the en banc could consider it."
"But he has not written us," she said. "His lawyers have not filed anything. I think they're just saying that [to] the media, but there's no petition for us to act on," she said.
Guanzon also said that she has read the news and does not think that the senator is saying outright that he is being cheated on.
She also noted that under the law, quick counts - like the PPCRV's and Namfrel's - are allowed by the law.
"Anyway, there are still about 250,000 votes [coming from] overseas that has not yet been canvassed," Guanzon added. "And I heard that the trend abroad is something like, favoring some candidates.
In the United Arab Emirates, the tallies indicate a preference for Rodrigo Duterte. And Marcos, who is only second in the Philippine count, is atop the standings.
"But then again, Maguindanao has not yet transmitted 500,000 votes. And [we] might have special elections for 20,000 voters. You can win this by 5,000," Guanzon added.
Purported anomalies in the vice presidential count surfaced after Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo overtook Sen. Marcos in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The former edged the latter in the standings at around 3:30 am with only 575 votes.
READ: Digong win a done deal; Leni still ahead.
Marcos supporters all over social media have started calling out the current administration and Comelec, accusing them of rigging the elections.
Twitter users went as far as rolling out the hashtag #DayaangMatuwid - a swipe at the Liberal Party's governance pitch. Some even trooped to Luneta Park and Quirino Granstand in Manila to express their disappointment and call for a manual recount.
"It's a tight race, so I can understand why [he] is on his toes," Guanzon expressed.
The latest figures from the local absentee voting (LAV) also show Duterte and Marcos as topnotchers.
READ: Duterte, Marcos lead LAV tally as canvassing resumes
Meanwhile, the partial and unofficial tally as of 1:45 p.m. is now at 95.5 percent in votes transmitted. It shows Robredo in front with 13,954,573 votes or 35.14 percent, and Marcos with 13,724,318 or 34.56 percent.
In the final question of the presser, Guanzon was asked if there's any truth to a "Plan B" being orchestrated by the administration to which she playfully replied: "Wala po kaming 'Plan B.' Meron lang kaming 'Plan L' - lunch na."