PET denies Robredo bid for immediate resolution of Bongbong's poll protest

The Supreme Court has denied Vice President Leni Robredo's motion that sought the immediate resolution of former senator Bongbong Marcos' election protest against her.

In a July 2 resolution, the Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), found "premature" the motion filed by Robredo's lawyers which claimed that her victory in the 2016 vice presidential race had been confirmed by the manual recount of votes from Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental.

Robredo's legal team presented their own computation of the total national votes for Robredo and Marcos, figures that reflected a larger winning margin but were dismissed by the Marcos camp as "self-serving" in the absence of official numbers from the PET.

The motion asked the PET to immediately resolve all pending incidents after the recount of ballots from the three pilot provinces, which, according to the Court, in effect sought the immediate resolution of the case.

Ruling on the motion, the Court said it has yet to complete the proceedings involved in the election protest, which it said includes judicial recount, revision, and appreciation of the votes cast in Marcos' chosen pilot provinces.

"The figures submitted by protestee are merely speculative. In arriving at the figures, protestee presumes that all her claims will be admitted by the Tribunal," the PET ruled.

"This premise is fundamentally flawed as the Tribunal is still in the process of appreciation of the revised ballots and ruling on the respective objections and claims made by the parties thereon," it added, noting that its final tally "has yet to be completed and released."

Robredo's camp expressed disappointment over the resolution.

"We are extremely disappointed, but we fully respect the Presidential Electoral Tribunal’s decision to deny our motion for immediate resolution in connection with the election protest of losing candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr.," said lawyer Bernadette Sardillo, Robredo's legal counsel.

Sardillo argued that they only pushed for the immediate resolution of the case in June this year to prevent Marcos’ camp from spreading misinformation aimed at deceiving the public about the genuine results of the 2016 elections "which they have been doing from the beginning of this process."

For his part, Marcos' spokesman, Vic Rodriguez, said they are "very pleased" with the resolution. He also expressed confidence Marcos will eventually be proclaimed vice president.

"The PET has finally put an end to Robredo’s fallacious claim of victory despite the fact that the entire process had not yet concluded. She should stop misleading the public with her impetuous pronouncements," Rodriguez said in a statement.

Robredo's motion was one of the incidents arising from Marcos'  still-pending main case, which contests the vice president's allegedly fraudulent victory in the 2016 national elections. Robredo's term will end in 2022.

The results of the manual revision and appreciation of ballots from Camarines Sur, Negros Oriental, and Iloilo will determine whether or not Marcos' protest will advance to his remaining contested clustered precincts.

In the same July 2 resolution, the tribunal ruled to defer action on Marcos' motion seeking an order for the Commission on Elections to examine the signatures and or thumbprints appearing in voter identification documents from Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan in the 2016 elections.

The Court found Marcos' motion "premature" because proceedings involving the three pilot provinces -- which do not include Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan -- have not yet been concluded. — RSJ, GMA News