Leni all set for face-off with Bongbong

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo is fully prepared for the preliminary conference on the election protest filed by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against her, even as they expressed confidence that the protest would be dismissed.

“VP Leni and her team are fully ready for the preliminary conference and we are confident that the protest of Bongbong Marcos will be dismissed,” Robredo’s lawyer Romulo Macalintal said in a statement.

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has set the preliminary conference on Marcos’ protest on June 21 at 2 p.m.

Macalintal said they are hoping for a speedy resolution of the case to remove any doubts on the legitimacy of Robredo’s mandate, as it expressed faith in the integrity of the SC.

“We continue to have faith in the integrity of the justice system and believe that the truth will prevail. The pre-trial will expose the weakness and insufficiency in form and substance of the Marcos protest,” he said.

The tribunal is composed of the same 15 justices of the SC has decided to set just one preliminary conference for the protest and counter-protest, citing Rule 3 of the 2010 PET Rules that allows adjustment in rules “to achieve a just, expeditious and inexpensive determination and disposition of every contest before the tribunal.”