Marcos camp cries receipt irregularity, but Comelec says they couldn't show any proof

The camp of the Marcos-Duterte tandem claimed Monday that some of the votes supposedly intended for presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. were credited to Vice President Leni Robredo.

A press release from the BBM-Sara UniTeam stated that a certain Raymar Racacho of Barangay Quinarayan in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur had voted for Marcos, however, his vote was allegedly credited to Robredo.

"After submission to the Board of Election Inspectors and the ballot went through the VCM (vote counting machine), the result of his vote appearing on the printed receipt was credited to Robredo," the camp said.

"This prompted him to report the same to the BEI before formally filing a complaint," it added.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Garcia, however, said there was no proof of that claim.

"'Yun pong lumalabas na balita sa Narvacan daw sa Ilocos, merong isang botante na bumoto tapos 'yung binoto niya ay iba 'yung lumabas sa kaniyang resibo... Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, wala naman siyang maipakita na ebidensya," Garcia said in a press briefing.

(In Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, there was person who supposedly voted for a specific candidate but his receipt allegedly showed another candidate. Up to now, there is no evidence presented to support this.)

Garcia urged the public not to immediately believe these kinds of allegations without concrete proof.

"Huwag po sana nating paniwalaan kaagad 'yun. Ongoing pa po ang botohan natin... Sa atin pong mga kababayan, tuloy lang ang pagboto, tuloy lang kung sino ang napupusuan ninyo. Huwag ninyong paniniwalaan 'yung mga sinasabi na iba 'yung resibo, iba 'yung binoto po ninyo," he added.

(Let's not immediately fall for these kinds of claim. Voting is still ongoing. To our countrymen, just continue voting, continue to vote for the candidate you prefer... Don't believe the information that your vote does not match the receipt.)

Garcia said the supposed incident was only reported to the police and it immediately went viral on social media. He said it was not even included in the minutes of the precinct.

"It’s so unfair especially to the hardworking men and women, the members of the electoral board," he said.

Meanwhile, one Joseph Pullis and a certain Benny Pa-ut both of Barangay Lacnog East in Tabuk City, Kalinga also lodged complaints claiming they both voted for Marcos but their votes were also credited to Robredo.

Marcos' spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said they have advised the former senator's supporters to be vigilant and immediately report to authorities incidents like these.

“We are taking note of these complaints but we are confident that the Comelec (Commission on Elections) is ready for any eventualities especially against attempts by some groups to subvert the genuine outcome of this all-important and history-making political exercise,” he said.

In response, the camp of Robredo dismissed claims that the votes for Marcos in the abovementioned North Luzon areas went to Robredo.

"Baka naman propaganda lamang [ito], o nagkamali lang iyong kanilang botante, o iyong mga botante sa areas na malakas sila ay talagang bumoto kay VP Leni. Sila naman ang sumisigaw, Awan Ti Solid North (walang Solid North)," Macalintal said in a news conference.

(This could just be a propaganda, or the voter made a mistake, or the person really voted for VP Leni. After all, voters in these areas are the ones who are saying there is no Solid North.)

Macalintal was referring to Robredo's supporters who chant Awan Ti Solid North during the vice president's campaign stops every time she shares that she is nervous to campaign in their areas given that she lost big there to Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential race.

"These [claims that Marcos votes went to Robredo] are all mere allegations. There is no evidence. The best evidence of the votes cast by the voter is the ballot. Thousands of Supreme Court decisions can attest to that. If there is any question on the votes cast by the voter, the best evidence would be the ballot," he added.

The election lawyer then said in the event the voter mistakenly shaded Robredo's name instead of Marcos, Robredo or even the Comelec cannot be faulted for that.

"Botante lamang ang nakakaalam ng boto niya (It is only the voter who knows whom he or she voted for). We do not believe that the VCMs are programmed in such a way that the vote for Marcos will be credited to Robredo," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Macalintal said reports of malfunctioning vote counting machines is not a cause of concern just yet.

"We have not received reports that could taint...makakasira sa malinis na halalan (the integrity of the elections) like ballot box snatching, acts of terrorism that could result in failure of election," he said.

Macalintal, however, said the Comelec should come clean on what has been done on the reported malfunctioning VCMs.

"We should ask the Comelec what has been done at this point and how many VCMs have since been fixed," he added.

In closing, Macalintal said Robredo's camp is putting their trust in the electoral process.

"Let us trust our electoral system. We are very confident that we will have a peaceful and orderly elections, praying for every ones safety. We refuse to believe that the Comelec or our political opponents would resort to doing something bad," he added.—with Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA News