‘Leni remains VP regardless of PET ruling on initial recount’

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo will remain in her post regardless of the ruling of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) on the initial recount in relation to the election protest filed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., according to Robredo’s lawyer Romulo Macalintal.

In a statement yesterday, Macalintal stressed that the upcoming ruling would not decide on the finality of the case but only on the initial recount conducted in the pilot provinces selected by Marcos.

“I just want to make it very clear that whatever will be the decision or resolution of the PET in the election protest of Bongbong Marcos against VP Leni Robredo, as reported in various media and the subject of various speculations, VP Robredo will remain as Vice President,” Macalintal said.

“The only issue that will be the subject of the said decision, which was reported to be issued on Oct. 8, will only resolve whether or not the election protest of Marcos will continue after the PET has recounted the ballots from the three pilot provinces (Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental) that he chose,” he added.

The election protest would only continue, and not invalidate Robredo’s victory, if the PET rules in favor of Marcos in the initial recount, according to Macalintal.

“If the PET says that Marcos has made a substantial recovery, then the PET will rule that the protest shall continue, insofar as the ballots and/or election returns questioned by Marcos from 22 remaining provinces and five highly urbanized cities (HUCs). In which case, Robredo remains as Vice President pending recount of ballots or returns from the said 22 provinces and five HUCs,” the election lawyer said.

“If PET rules that Marcos was unable to gain any substantial recovery from the recount of ballots from his three pilot provinces (Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental), then his protest will be dismissed and VP Leni’s victory will be affirmed,” he added.

Speculations had earlier circulated that the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET, would side with Marcos in its ruling on the initial recount, paving the way for continuation of the election protest.

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin denied that they have already made a ruling on the matter.

Robredo’s camp had earlier said the tribunal should dismiss the case as Marcos failed to gain substantial recovery in the votes following the initial recount.

Reports said Robredo even increased her winning margin against Marcos by around 15,000 votes after the ballots from three pilot provinces were recounted.

‘Extraneous influences’

As this developed, Sen. Leila de Lima expressed hopes that the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET, would decide with dispatch on Marcos’ electoral protest against Robredo.

De Lima, a known election lawyer before she joined government service, said the PET should not delay once again its ruling on the long-pending electoral protest, and much less, be influenced by some “extraneous influences.”

“It is no secret that Duterte is averse to a Robredo succession in case anything happens to him,” the senator said.

“I am hoping against hope that the predisposition of the appointing power does not influence or affect the decision-making of the justices on an otherwise simple case of correctly applying grade school math,” she added.

Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa, the member-in-charge of the case, reportedly sent his report about the case during the PET session last Sept. 10 but was still unacted upon by the SC justices. Deliberation on the case was again reset to tomorrow.

De Lima, a former justice secretary, maintained that the PET case “is mostly a matter of correct arithmetic” because there “is little room for changes” in the original proclamation results through an appreciation of ballots.

“It is either the ballot reflects the intent of the voter and was correctly counted, or for some reason, the machine rejected an otherwise perfectly valid vote or ballot. This is the only logical basis for any vote recovery in the pilot precincts,” she said. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe