Leni relieved by CJ assurance on poll protest

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo said yesterday she felt relieved by Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin’s assurance that the poll protest filed against her by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cannot be manipulated.

“We are thankful that the Chief Justice was the one who set the record straight that it will not happen,” the Vice President said in her weekly program over dzXL.

Robredo said she continues to trust the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), and hopes that they would decide on the case as soon as possible to end all speculations.

Robredo got 14,418,817 votes, or 263,473 votes more than the 14,155,344 received by Marcos during the May 2016 polls. Marcos filed his election protest against Robredo on June 29, 2016.

In his petition, Marcos wanted PET to declare Robredo’s victory null and void and for it to conduct a recount of ballots in all of the 36,465 protested clustered precincts in 27 cities and provinces.

Bersamin on Thursday assured the public that there is no manipulation at the PET as it continues to deliberate on Marcos’ protest.

Last Tuesday, the SC again deferred voting on Marcos’ protest, more than a month since Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the person in charge of the case, submitted his report on the revision, or recount, of ballots from three pilot provinces.

The recount result will determine whether the protest will be dismissed or not.

If there is a big discrepancy between the official tally and figures from the revision, the PET would expand the coverage of the recount to 24 other provinces and cities, covering 30,000 poll precincts.

Bersamin also said that they would “probably” be voting on the high-profile case during the next full session on Oct. 15.

The Vice President’s camp last week filed a motion asking the PET to release the copy of the result of the revision and recount of ballots in three pilot provinces covered by Marcos’ protest – Iloilo, Negros Oriental and Camarines Sur.

Ratings don’t matter

Robredo, meanwhile, said surveys showing Filipinos’ urgent concerns are more important than her personal ratings.

This was Robredo’s reaction to the latest Pulse Asia’s survey showing a drop in her approval and trust scores.

“This (survey rating) is important to us, but in surveys there are also issues indicated. What do people feel about a certain issue, that’s what we’re looking at,” she said over dzXL.

“What’s important to us are the issues that matter to the people. These are the most important surveys,” she added.

The number of people who approve of the performance of the Vice President went down from 55 percent in June to 50 percent in September, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from Sept. 16 to 22.