Robredo camp urges vigilance vs. ‘plan to steal vice-presidency’

Following the surprise burial of late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos last week, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Sunday urged public vigilance in light of what it said is a plan to have the May election ballots recounted even without the direction of the Presidential Election Tribunal.

"The objective is to steal the vice presidency from VP [Maria Leonor] Leni [Robredo]," OVP Spokesperson Georgina Hernandez said in a statement.

"This fear and grave concern are exacerbated by the way the Marcoses sneaked the burial of the dictator from the Filipino public... To get what they desperately want, they have resorted to impunity and complete disregard for the rule of law," the statement read.

Marcos was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) on Friday noon, after his body was flown to Metro Manila from Laoag. The remains arrived at the cemetery past 11:30 a.m., and the burial rites were conducted shortly after.

Robredo on Friday already expressed her dismay over the burial, reiterating that Marcos is "no hero," and that "Ferdinand Marcos was a thief, a murderer, and a dictator."

"He is no hero. If he were, obviously his family would not have to hide his burial like a shameful criminal deed," she said.

Robredo's camp also last week told former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. that he should "accept the facts" after the Manila Prosecutor's Office dismissed his case over the script change in the server used in the May polls.

"There are times when we just need to accept the facts and the truth no matter how painful it might be," Bernadette Sardillo of Robredo's legal team said.

The cybercrime charges—dismissed for insufficiency of evidence and lack of merit—were filed by Marcos' campaign adviser, Abakada Partylist Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz, against two executives and a personnel of technology provider Smartmatic, as well as several employees of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The camp of the younger Marcos has already earlier asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the Manila Prosecutor's Office decision.

In the same statement on Sunday, Robredo's camp urged the public to be "more vigilant" moving forward.

"We urge everyone to be more vigilant about any extralegal movements during this dark time in our history and we thank those who remain committed to a free and just society," Hernandez said.

"We continue to have faith in our judicial system and we believe that any decision will be based on truth," she added. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News