PET begins retrieval of ballots for VP poll protest

The Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), on Tuesday started the retrieval of ballot boxes for the recount in connection with the poll protest involving former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo.

Ballot boxes and poll documents from the 12 municipalities of Camarines Sur, Robredo's home province, were delivered to the PET Retrieval Team at the Commission on Elections office in the provincial capital of Pili.

The PET Retrieval Team, in turn, will bring the materials to the SC compound in Manila where the recount will be conducted.

Supporters from both camps monitored the delivery of poll materials.

The PET is expected to begin in February the recount of votes in connection with the election protest filed by Marcos.

The ballot recount covers the three pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental chosen by Marcos as the best provinces where he could prove the irregularities alleged in his protest.

First to be reviewed are the ballots from the contested clustered precincts in Camarines Sur, to be followed by the two other pilot provinces.

Robredo’s lawyer, Romulo Macalintal, had said that under the PET Rules, if Marcos could not prove any substantial recovery of votes from these three pilot provinces, the former senator’s protest will be dismissed for lack of merit.

Marcos lost to Robredo by 263,473 votes in the May 2016 election which the former senator claimed was marred by fraud. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News