Vice President poll protest: SC warns Robredo, Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday warned the camps of Vice President Leni Robredo and former senator Bongbong Marcos to refrain from publicly discussing the latter’s election protest.

SC magistrates, sitting as members of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), reminded both parties to follow the sub judice rule, which restricts comments on matters pending in court.

The PET said media outlets are not the proper venues to litigate the case.

“The parties, their counsels and their agents are sternly warned that any more violation of this order will be dealt with severely,” the SC Public Information Office said.

The PET issued the warning a day after Marcos filed a motion before the high court, seeking the inhibition of Associate Justice Marvic Leonen from the case over alleged bias on the four-year-old electoral protest.

Marcos’ lawyer Vic Rodriguez said Leonen should not have accepted the job as justice-in-charge of the case “out of delicadeza.”

The camp of Robredo slammed the petition and likened Marcos to a “spoiled brat who cries when he doesn’t get candy.”

The PET said this is not the first time it has reminded both parties about the sub judice rule.

In 2018, the SC ordered Robredo and Marcos to stop discussing the merits of the case in public. They were fined P50,000 each in 2019 after the tribunal concluded the recount of ballots from the provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental.

Robredo defeated Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential race by more than 200,000 votes.

The Vice President’s camp said they would question Solicitor General Jose Calida’s “suspicious” motion pushing for the inhibition of Leonen from Marcos’ poll protest.

Emil Marañon, lawyer for Robredo, said they would file a pleading before the SC.

Marañon questioned Calida’s participation in the poll protest, which is a private suit.

Calida asked the high court to bar Leonen from participating in any proceedings of the SC regarding the case.

Calida and Marcos asked that the poll complaint be re-raffled to another member of the SC.

Malacañang backed the Office of the Solicitor General’s move.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Palace sees nothing wrong with the decision of Calida.

Roque said Duterte did not have anything to do with Calida’s move amid reports that Marcos supposedly met with the President recently. – Helen Flores, Christina Mendez