Robredo: No other acceptable decision but to dismiss Marcos poll protest

MANILA, Philippines — There is no other acceptable decision for the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), but to dismiss the electoral protest of former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Vice President Leni Robredo said Tuesday.

"We stand by our position that there is no other acceptable decision but to dismiss the protest in accordance with Rule 65 of the PET in accordance with the results of the recount," Robredo said in a televised press conference.

The tribunal has once again deferred the ruling on the electoral protest Marcos challenging the victory of Robredo in the May 2016 elections.

The PET, however, ordered both parties to comment on the motion of Marcos to nullify votes from three provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) — Maguindanao, Basilan and Lanao del Sur.

Marcos chose pilot provinces, Leni points out

For Robredo, Marcos should have initially sought the nullification of the votes in the BARMM provinces instead of the three pilot provinces that the defeated vice presidential bet chose for the recount.

"If he (Marcos) wants nullification of votes in ARMM that should should have been his track from the preliminary conference but now his position has changed," Robredo said.

The vice president claimed that there was no substantial recovery for Marcos in the three pilot provinces — Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental.

The PET will be releasing the report on the revision and appreciation in the three pilot provinces, which Marcos himself chose.

Robredo pointed out that Marcos' motion to look into the three BARMM provinces would be against Rule 65 of the PET, which states that the tribunal may order the protestant to pick at most three provinces “best exemplifying the frauds or irregularities alleged in his petition.”

The vice president also accused Marcos of dragging the electoral protest to spread propaganda.

"He is having propaganda claiming that he is the real vice president. The election is already done, Congress proclaimed the winner based on the results of the Comelec. We won," Robredo said in Filipino.

"There was a recount, which we also won. How many victories do we need for him (Marcos) to accept the he did not win?" she added.

The results of the recount have yet to be made public.

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