By Moira Encina
Eagle News Service
Claiming to represent over 5,000 Ilonggos, Actress Cynthia Patag has asked the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, to apply the 25 percent ballot shading threshold in the ongoing manual recount of votes cast in the vice presidential elections in 2016.
In supporting Vice President Leni Robredo’s stance, Patag, in a letter also supposedly signed by 5,500 Ilonggos, said the PET could be violating its mandate if it continues to implement the 50 percent threshold in the recount, as pushed for by former Senator Bongbong Marcos.
The letter said the Ilonggos would be disenfranchised if the PET pushes through with the same.
Iloilo is one of the three pilot provinces covered by Marcos’ poll protest.
The PET earlier ordered the suspension of the recount of wet ballots from Iloilo, particularly from the Clustered Precinct No. 22 in Barangay Puerto Princesa in Barotac Viejo.
The PET instead ordered the use of the decrypted images of ballots from the clustered precinct.
PET also ordered the municipal treasurer of Barotac Viejo to explain why the minutes of voting and election returns from Clustered Precinct Number 29 in Barangay San Francisco were missing, and why there were problems in the seal in the said ballot box.