Robredo tells PET: Marcos not treated unfairly

Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has not been treated unfairly, Vice President Leni Robredo told the Supreme Court (SC) Wednesday, countering Marcos' new claims in his four-year-old election protest against her.

In a counter manifestation, Robredo, through her lawyers, repeated her claim that Marcos has been defeated twice — first in the 2016 elections, and again in the recount of votes from three provinces where he alleged poll fraud took place — and is  "desperate to show some semblance of credibility that he was cheated out of an office."

Earlier this week, Marcos sought the inhibition of Associate Justice Marvic Leonen from the proceedings in the protest, citing the justice's alleged bias against him and his family. He claimed Leonen had delayed the case.

Two years ago, Marcos similarly asked for the recusal of then-justice-in-charge Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa — a motion that the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), refused for containing "empty allegations."

The PET's resolution at the time came with a warning against Marcos and his lawyers that "any unfounded and inappropriate accusation made in the future will be dealt with more severely."

Robredo's lawyers said Marcos has gone on the "the same frivolous route" despite the court's warning.

"Protestant Marcos has not been treated unfairly. He has been given every opportunity to prove his unfounded claims of electoral frauds," they said.

"After more than four years, protestant Marcos has not been able to present a single evidence to prove that he should be declared the rightful winner in the 09 May 2016 Vice-Presidential Elections," they added.

In addition, they claimed that following Marcos' supposed logic in seeking the inhibition of Caguioa and Leonen would result in an "absurdity," if not the recusal of the rest of the court.

Robredo's lawyers asked whether the Vice President could impute bias against Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, who wrote the decision allowing the burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, and against Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, who concurred.

Marcos had cited Leonen's dissent in the Marcos burial case as proof of bias against the Marcos family and a ground for his inhibition.

The Robredo camp added that the PET is now composed mostly of appointees of President Rodrigo Duterte, whose "differences" with the Vice President, they said, is "public knowledge."

Duterte also has admitted being "indebted" to Senator Imee Marcos, who was among those who funded his presidential campaign, they said.

"Thus, should protestee Robredo now assume bias on the part of Associate Justices Gesmundo, Hernando, Carandang, Lazaro-Javier, Inting, Zalameda, Lopez, Delos Santos, Gaerlan and Rosario?" the lawyers said.

"Are the members of the High Tribunal who have been appointed by President Duterte now biased in favor of protestant Marcos?" they added.

They further claimed that the delay in the resolution of the election protest "can only be ascribed to the steadfast refusal of protestant Marcos to accept the plain and simple truth — he lost, not once but twice."

The Robredo camp has repeatedly claimed that the election protest should have been dismissed last year when a recount of ballots from Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental showed Robredo's lead over Marcos had widened by some 15,000 votes.

The PET has reiterated its reminder to Marcos and Robredo to refrain from publicly discussing the merits of the pending case. — RSJ, GMA News