Bongbong supporters say they pooled P36M for poll protest vs. Robredo

Ordered to pay an initial P36 million to push his electoral protest forward, former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he was able to do so with a little help from his “friends.”

Marcos himself trooped to the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), on Monday to comply with the first half of the P66 million required from his end.

As he filed before the SC’s clerk of court, his lawyer and spokesman, Vic Rodriguez, distributed copies of a six-page “open letter” from “friends and supporters,” addressed to the PET. This included a three-page list that had 40 names in it.

This is despite the Marcos camp's assertion that the computation of the fees was incorrect because it was based on established, not clustered, precincts. They also questioned the timing of the order’s release, with the resolution dated March 21 released only last week.

“Buti na lang may mga kaibigan akong nagmagandang-loob. Sila ay naniniwala na tama at makatarungan ang aking protesta, kaya naman sila’y nagkaisa. Sila ay inipon nila ang kanilang maibibigay para ito ‘yung… sumulat sila ng open letter sa Supreme Court para masimulan na nga ang proseso, magkaroon na ng preliminary conference, magsimula na ang proseso para tingnan at maihusga kung ano ba talaga ang naging pangyayari,” Marcos told reporters after he paid the first tranche of the required fees, minutes before the court closed its offices.

“Ang nanguna diyan, siyempre ‘yung mga kaibigan ko, ‘yung mga close sa akin, at sila ang umikot para kumuha ng suporta, ng tulong. Nangolekta, nagtoka-toka para mabuo ‘yung P33 million (sic),” he added.

The letter read: “In order not to delay the proceedings any further, we decided to pool our resources so that the cash deposit would be paid.”

“We have done this because it is our heartfelt wish that the election protest be resolved with dispatch. 10 months is too long for this open wound to fester. This insecurity and instability is not good for the country. We thus look to you—the esteemed members of the Supreme Court—to resolve the confusion and doubt that has plagued us since May 2016,” it said.

The list had the signatures, addresses, and contact numbers of the donors. However, it did not indicate the respective amounts that these “friends and supporters” contributed.

Rodriguez told GMA News Online that the signatories raised the whole P36 million that Marcos used to comply with the order.

The list includes a certain Alfredo D. Roa, a Ruby Diaz Roa, and a Gabriel Roa Limjoco.

Asked if they had any relation to President Rodrigo Duterte, whose mother is also a Roa, Marcos told reporters that “there are thousands and thousands of Roas.”

Pressed on the matter, he said: “Well, they’re Roas, so yes. But again, libo-libo ‘yung Roas, Mindanao and Visayas. There are more than a hundred thousand of them. It’s a huge family.” —JST, GMA News