Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday denounced the camp of Vice President Leni Robredo for claiming victory following news that Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa had submitted a report to the Presidential Electoral Tribunal purportedly upholding her proclamation as the duly elected vice president in the 2016 elections.
“We are appalled by the brazenness of Mrs. Robredo in claiming victory in my still ongoing election protest just as the tribunal announced that no action has been taken by the court on the Caguioa report,” Marcos said, in a statement.
“Clearly, there has been a concerted effort to intimidate and coerce the Tribunal with their underhanded mind conditioning tactics,” Marcos added.
The former senator made the statement after Caguioa, the ponente or justice-in-charge of the case, submitted a report on the results of its revision or recount of votes in three pilot provinces to the Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.
The recount covers 5,415 precincts in three pilot provinces chosen by Marcos being the one who filed the protest: Iloilo, Negros Oriental, and Camarines Sur—all bailiwicks of Robredo.
Caguioa’s submission of report prompted lawyer Romulo Macalintal, legal counsel for Robredo, to argue that his client legitimately won the 2016 vice presidential race, considering that Marcos was not able to secure substantial recovery of votes—meaning votes that could overcome Robredo’s winning margin at 263,473, during the manual recount of votes in three pilot provinces chosen by Marcos being the one who filed the election protest.
“Remember, the vote lead of the Vice President is about 260,000,” Macalintal added.
Marcos said his camp would be refraining from discussing the merits of the case since the resolution was still pending.
“We assure the Tribunal of our commitment to abide by the sub judice rule,” Marcos said.
