Leni camp: Bongbong revisor used ‘banned’ item during recount

The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo has accused the camp of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. of violating Supreme Court (SC) rules in the ongoing recount of vice presidential votes when one of their revisors allegedly used a plastic magnifying lens during the recount proceeding.

In a manifestation of grave concern filed Wednesday but sent to reporters on Friday, Robredo's lawyers called out Marcos revisor Nestor Borromeo for allegedly bringing and using a plastic magnifying lens, a supposedly prohibited item, during the recount proceeding on June 14.

The filing said the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), had previously informed both parties that only papers can be brought inside the venue for the revision, the official term for the recount.

Robredo and Marcos deployed one revisor to each of the revision committees, which are headed by a PET employee. Party revisors are in charge of recounting and objecting to contested ballots, while the Head Revisors are tasked to record the objections for resolution by the PET.

"Worse, when confronted, Mr. Borromeo said that he was instructed to stray more valid ballots for protestee Maria Leonor G. Robredo even after the Head Revisor of the Honorable Tribunal has segregated the ballots," the manifestation alleged.

This incident came after the PET "admonished" lawyer Joan Padilla, the party supervisor on the Marcos team, in connection with an April 13 report from the Robredo camp that she supposedly approached PET Head Revisors and "instructed them not to counter-check the votes acquired by both parties in the election returns."

In a separate press statement, Robredo's team said the PET issued a resolution on April 24 that ordered Padilla "not to talk to any of the PET Head Revisors and not to disrupt the revision process in general."

GMA News Online has sought comment from Marcos' camp. 

Marcos is contesting Robredo's victory in the 2016 vice presidential election.

The manual recount of votes for vice president involving over 5,000 clustered precincts started on April 2. —KBK, GMA News