Robredo camp: Vote recount results in 3 provinces confirm 2016 poll victory

Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday claimed she won in the election case she is locked in with former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. based on the results of a vote recount involving Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.

Marcos' camp called the claim "self-serving" in the absence of official figures from the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

"Without preempting the resolution of the Honorable Tribunal, the result of the revision, recount and re-appreciation of the ballots clearly confirm the victory of protestee Robredo," the vice president's lawyers said in an urgent motion filed before the PET.

Romulo Macalintal, Robredo's lead lawyer, also claimed that the vice president's total lead against Marcos increased by 15,000 votes due to what he said were votes that were not counted by vote-counting machines but ended up being recognized in the revision and recount process.

"Kasi may mga pagkakataon nga na ang botante mismo ay mali ang pakaka-shade ng balota, o iyong 25-percent threshold ay hindi nakuha kaya hindi iyon binibilang ng vote-counting machines," Macalintal told reporters.

Robredo was proclaimed to have had a winning margin of 263,473 votes against Marcos, the losing candidate, in the 2016 elections. In the new filing, her lawyers said the margin rose to 279,215 after the recount involving the three provinces.

The PET has not provided the public an update on the results of the recount, which would determine whether or not Marcos' poll protest would proceed to his remaining contested clustered precincts.

Robredo's lawyers also said the recount of ballots from Camarines Sur, Negros Oriental, and Iloilo yielded a physical count of 1,475,989 votes for Robredo and 200,467 for Marcos, or a margin of 1,275,522 votes.

According to the filing, election returns from the three provinces show slightly higher figures, or 1,492,544 votes for Robredo and 202,184 for Marcos. The vice president's lawyers attributed this to the "application of the 50% threshold during the revision, recount and re-appreciation of the ballots."

Robredo's lawyers also asked the PET to immediately resolve all pending incidents after the recount of ballots from the three pilot provinces.

In response, Marcos' lawyer, Vic Rodriguez, said the PET does not yet have "official findings" on the figures recovered by either party.

"What they have at the moment are all self-serving assumptions meant to mislead the Filipino people who have long been waiting for the result of the election protest filed by Sen. Bongbong Marcos the early resolution of which Mrs. Robredo have time and again suppressed by her delaying tactics," he said in a text message.

"What she should answer squarely now are the findings made by the Commission on Audit (COA) making her accountable for public funds used on her Angat Buhay program which were found to have poor planning and are lacking in documents," he added.

The COA has called out Robredo's office for not adequately monitoring its P44.66-million fund allocation for the Angat Buhay program and requiring local government beneficiaries to submit supporting documents.

Responding to the COA audit report, the Office of the Vice President last April said local government units initially submit a certification while they process the fund transfer, which it said proves they received the allocation.

The OVP also told the state auditor it intends to revise its memorandum of agreement with LGUs and add emphasis on the requirement to submit ORs and other documents. — MDM, GMA News