Robredo to appeal Iloilo City’s inclusion in vote recount

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo will appeal to the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) the inclusion of Iloilo City in the ongoing retrieval of ballots for an election protest filed by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“The pilot province protested by Bongbong Marcos is the province of Iloilo and we know that Iloilo City is separate and independent from the province,” Emil Marañon III, a consultant for Robredo’s legal team, said yesterday.

The retrieval of ballot boxes in Iloilo started yesterday and will end on Friday. Iloilo is one of the pilot provinces named by Marcos in his electoral protest.

Marañon said Robredo’s camp might clarify with the PET the coverage of retrieval of ballot boxes in Iloilo.

Robredo won in Iloilo, garnering 573,829 votes against Marcos’ 94,411.

In Iloilo City, Robredo got 137,662 votes and Marcos 33,778.

Apart from Iloilo, the other pilot areas in Marcos’ poll protest are Camarines Sur and Negros Oriental.

The PET is currently conducting a manual recount of votes from Camarines Sur, Robredo’s home province.

Robredo’s lawyers said if Marcos could not prove a substantial recovery from these three provinces, his protest would be dismissed for lack of merit.