PET sets start of ballot recount on March 19

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, has scheduled on March 19 the start of the ballot recount related in the election protest filed by former Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo.

Both Robredo's lawyer, Romulo Macalintal, Marcos' counsel, Vic Rodriguez, confirmed the information to GMA News Online.

The ballot recount, which was initially slated to start in February, will cover the three pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.

Macalintal said he expected protest to be over by October 2018, insisting that Marcos would run for office in the 2019 mid-term elections.

The defeated vice presidential candidate, for his part, has said he was not eyeing a Senate seat in next year's polls.

Marcos and Robredo this week produced separate documents for the withdrawal of all pending motions before the PET which may delay the recount. —NB, GMA News