Robredo lawyer: Imee Marcos ‘gatecrashed’ recount area

A lawyer for Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday said Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos "gatecrashed" the venue of the manual vote recount involving her brother, ex-senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.

The governor herself admitted to being inside the venue on Monday, but said the following day it appears authorities have tightened the implementation of their entry rules.

Both the Marcos and Robredo parties were earlier directed to refrain from discussing matters pertaining to the pending protest, but Imee answered reporters' questions a day after Robredo lawyer Romulo Macalintal shrugged off alleged anomalies in some ballot boxes from a Camarines Sur town.

In response, Bernadette Sardillo, another Robredo lawyer, questioned why Imee had "gatecrashed" the recount area.

"With all due respect to Ms. Marcos, we had to answer the lies that they wanted to propagate. She should advise her brother to consult his legal team first before ranting to the media," she said in a message to reporters.

"If it is following the rules of PET (Presidential Electoral Tribunal) that is being placed in issue, maybe Ms. Marcos should also explain why she blatantly violated the rules when she gatecrashed the revision area," she added.

According to PET rules, those allowed to observe the recount proceedings are the following: the protestant (Bongbong), the protestee (Robredo), their accredited party supervisor, lawyers, and other persons authorized by the tribunal.

Imee was seen entering the Supreme Court on Monday, the first day of the recount, but it was unclear whether she was allowed into the Revision Hall, which was the Court of Appeals' gymnasium converted for the purpose.

But on Tuesday's interview with reporters, which she claimed was not a press conference, Imee admitted being let into the venue.

"Ako, hindi naman ako abogado, dakilang ate lang ako, kaya nakapasok ako kahapon. Ngayon, mukhang strikto na eh. It seems like they've really secured the premises and don't want anyone to go in. I'm trying to get in and check out the revision even if it's not on the floor itself," she said.

There, she said she saw "soaking" wet ballots, supporting her brother's claim.

Sought for comment on Sardillo's "gatecrashing" comment, Marcos spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said Robredo's team is "resorting to attack collateral and/or peripheral issues that are of less significance if not totally irrelevant" in the case.

These claims, he said, are a "desperate attempt to distract people and veer them away from discussing, digesting and appreciating the burning issues such as the undervotes, wet ballots and presence of circles instead of 'squares' in the original ballots." — BM, GMA News