Robredo seeks junking of Marcos' opposition to ballot image use

Vice President Leni Robredo's camp asked the court on Friday to throw out the continued opposition of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.  to the use of ballot images in the ongoing recount of the votes for vice president.

In a comment and opposition, Robredo's lawyers alleged that Marcos merely "reiterated previous baseless arguments" in asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier rejection of his plea against the use of ballot images.

Sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), the court ruled last September to deny the defeated vice presidential candidate's opposition, saying he had not shown proof that the decrypted ballot images were of questionable integrity.

Marcos filed a motion for reconsideration, which Robredo's camp said "failed to present any new convincing argument" for the court to reconsider its earlier ruling.

"The simple and undeniable truth is that protestant Marcos has failed to present any evidence to substantiate his allegations of massive electoral anomalies, fraud and irregularities," Robredo's lawyers said. 

"Worse, protestant Marcos has attempted to twist the resolution of the Honorable Tribunal in order to suit his purpose," they added.

The Robredo camp also accused Marcos of showing "utter confusion" in his understanding of the PET's September 18, 2018 ruling, which set aside the 50-percent shading threshold in determining the validity of votes counted during the PET-supervised revision proceedings.

"[Marcos] is confused. In seeking a partial reconsideration of the Resolution dated 18 September 2018, protestant Marcos presents confusing and misleading arguments," Robredo's comment said.

"It is quite clear that protestant Marcos is completely misguided and grasping at imaginary straws," it added, before responding to the former senator's contentions, including the issue of allegedly pre-shaded ballots.

This matter, Robredo's team said, is "best left to the discretion and appreciation of the PET" after the recount is concluded.

On the issue of allegedly inauthentic election returns, Robredo's lawyers said a mere allegation "is not sufficient ground to delete the amendments in Rule 62 of the 2018 Revisor's Guide."

"Being consistently confused and misguided, protestant Marcos failed to present any evidence to substantiate his claims that the transmitted results are not authentic," they wrote.

Marcos is challenging Robredo's victory in the 2016 vice presidential race before the PET. —LDF, GMA News