Bongbong blames recount sked reset on PET psych requirement

Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. on Thursday attributed the rescheduling of the ballot recount that is part of his poll protest to a "new" requirement laid down by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

He said the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET, now requires a psychological test for the revisors who will be tasked to examine the ballot boxes in question.

His lawyer, Vic Rodriguez, clarified the requirement was for head revisors.

"Biglang nagkaroon ng psychological test, biglang kung anu-ano ang mga requirement na bago," Marcos told reporters.

"Wala naman sa batas, wala naman sa rules, at lahat ng requirement na 'yun, nung 2016 pwede na nilang ginawa 'yun, ba't ngayon lang, malapit nang magsimula," he added.

Marcos has a pending election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, whom he accused of cheating in the 2016 election after he lost to her by 263,473 votes.

Rodriguez also said that the supposedly new requirement was the cause of the rescheduling of the ballot recount.

"Considering that the case has been pending for almost 2 years now, they could have implemented this much earlier then it would not have caused another month of delay," he said in a message.

The recount has now been set for March 19, instead of the supposed initial February 8 date.

GMA News Online has sought comment from Robredo's lawyers on the matter. — BM, GMA News