Marcos camp: Manifestation shows commitment not to delay recount

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said that their signing of a manifestation, instead of a motion to withdraw pending motion, is a show of their camp's commitment to not cause the delay of the election recount.

In an interview with ANC, Vic Rodriguez, counsel for Marcos, said that the joint manifestation  is "our expression of our commitment to the court and the Filipino people to withdraw any or pending motion and all other future motions that would cause a delay" in the recount proceeding.

Earlier on Wednesday, Romulo Macalintal, counsel of Robredo, signed a joint motion to withdraw all pending motions before the tribunal.

READ: Robredo camp: Marcos signed wrong pleading

This was in answer to the challenge posed by  the Marcos camp to withdraw all pending motions that cause the delay of the election recount.

However, Macalintal pointed out that Marcos signed a manifestation which merely informs the court that an agreement was reached by the parties. He added that the court cannot act on a manifestation.

Rodriguez, for his part, pointed out the joint manifestation Macalintal signed lacked the signature of Robredo. He said that this shows that the camp of the vice president lacks "sincerity."

"No less than our principal [Marcos] and lead counsel George Garcia signed our manifestation," he said.

In a separate statement sent by the Marcos camp, Rodriguez stressed that: “Without Mrs. Robredo’s signature, the motion is a mere scrap of paper and may be later disowned by her as having been signed without her authority. It is as if they wanted to fool people again."

READ: Robredo camp accepts Marcos challenge to withdraw all motions before PET

The lawyer said that Robredo, being the principal in the case, could later withdraw the motion as it was made without her conformity.

Macalintal earlier explained that: "A motion is a pleading where a party asks the court to grant him the relief or remedies or what he wants from court. A manifestation is merely a pleading wherein the party merely makes a representation or statement which the court may just take not of without any action at all."

Last week, Marcos presented evidence that would supposedly show fraud during the 2016 national and local elections. He presented copies of ballot images from Camarines Sur and Negros Oriental that would supposedly prove massive fraud during the 2016 polls.

Robredo’s camp dismissed the supposed evidence as “highly ridiculous if not outright frivolous” and urged the PET and the Commission on Elections to investigate the source of the images.

Marcos, the son of the ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has accused Robredo of cheating her way to the second highest office in the land. He lost to former Camarines Sur Rep. and human rights lawyer Robredo by a slim margin of about 260,000 votes in the 2016 national elections.

If Marcos wins in his electoral protest, this will mean a massive step in efforts by his family to rehabilitate and regain the presidential palace 32 years after their patriarch was ousted from power.