Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 20) — The Presidential Electoral Tribunal released on Monday the full copy of its decision dismissing the electoral protest filed by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo.
In the decision, the PET said Marcos failed to prove his claims and that his “allegations appeared bare, laden with generic and repetitious allegations and lacked critical information” regarding the alleged irregularities.
“If, indeed, protestant was convinced of his claims in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan, then he should have indicated those three as his pilot provinces. But he did not, to no fault of this Tribunal,” it said.
This is in relation to his cause of action to annul election results in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, and Basilan. In January this year, Marcos asked the tribunal to revise the results of the poll recount and to validate signatures from the said provinces due to alleged fraud and terrorism.
However, in the Feb. 16 decision, seven magistrates fully concurred with the dismissal while eight concurred with the poll protest result. A highly-placed source in the Supreme Court said defeated candidate Marcos failed to present specific acts to back his claims of poll fraud, such as the time and manner of irregularities.
READ: Supreme Court unanimously junks Marcos’ VP poll protest vs Robredo
The court said the lack of substantial recovery of votes from the said provinces led to the dismissal of the protest. Rule 65 of the Tribunal Rules also mandates the dismissal of a protest when the results of the revision and appreciation of ballots in the pilot provinces do not support the allegations of fraud or irregularities.
According to its review, the body also said the total number of votes for Robredo increased by 1,510,178, while that of Marcos gained only 204,512, confirming the victory of the former. Moreover, PET said Robredo would still maintain her lead even if a third cause of action would be conducted.
“Marcos failed to make out his case,” the PET said. “To entertain the third cause of action is to risk frustrating the valid exercise of the nation’s democratic will and subject it to endless whims of a defeated candidate.”
After losing the 2016 vice presidential election, Marcos filed an electoral protest against Robredo on June 30 in the same year. He questioned the result of the polls where he was defeated by Robredo by 263,473 votes.
The tribunal in October 2019 found that Robredo’s lead grew by around 15,000 votes after a recount of ballots from the 5,415 clustered precincts in the pilot provinces of Iloilo, Negros Oriental, and Camarines Sur — Robredo’s bailiwick.
CNN Philippines senior correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
Presidential Electoral Tribunal releases its unanimous decision junking the poll protest of former Senator Bongbong Marcos affirming the 2016 victory of Vice President Leni Robredo. | @anjocalimario pic.twitter.com/AhfLzmx5Uw
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 19, 2021
