(Eagle News)–Vice President Leni Robredo will retain her post regardless of the decision of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal on the recount of ballots covering three pilot provinces.
This is according to Romulo Macalintal, her lawyer, who issued a statement days after the PET said it had deferred acting on Justice Alfredo Caguioa’s September report on the recount of the votes in Negros Oriental, Camarines Sur and Iloilo, prompted by an electoral protest filed by former Senator Bongbong Marcos.
Caguioa is the magistrate-in-charge of the case.
“If the PET says that Marcos has made a substantial recovery, then the PET will rule that the protest shall continue, insofar as the ballots and/or election returns questioned by Marcos from 22 remaining provinces and five highly urbanized cities,” Macalintal said.
If, on the other hand, the PET rules that Marcos had no substantial advantage from the recount of ballots from Negros Oriental, Camarines Sur and Iloilo, his protest will be dismissed.
“Leni’s victory will be affirmed,” he said.
Robredo was declared the vice president after garnering some 200,000 votes more than Marcos in the 2016 elections.
But Marcos has said the race had been marred with cheating.