BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS said an immediate resolution of the now three-year running electoral protest case over the vice-presidential seat would improve investor confidence as policy makers would be spared from “political distraction.”

“The signatory institutions believe that an expeditious resolution of the Protest would spare our policy makers and leaders from the political distraction — at a time when focus on more fundamental challenges facing the country is crucial,” five groups said in a joint statement released Thursday.

The institutions are the Bishop-Businessmen’s Conference, Financial Executives of the Philippines, Institute of Corporate Directors, Makati Business Club (MBC), and the umbrella group Judicial Reform Initiative.

In the statement, they also welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as Presidential Electoral (PET) last Tuesday, to release the report on the initial recount for the electoral protest filed by losing candidate Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

They said the PET’s resolution shows the court’s commitment to “transparency and fairness.”

“In the face of turbulence in both the domestic and international markets, the decision provides confidence in the Philippine Judiciary’s commitment to the rule of law-so fundamental to investor confidence,” the groups said.

The MBC, in a separate statement on Wednesday, also said that they hope the court’s decision “is a step toward dismissing the protest, and reducing the political and judicial uncertainty that came with it — uncertainty that manifests risk premiums for those who would invest in Philippine jobs and industries.”

Mr. Marcos filed the election protest in 2016 after losing to Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo.

The PET, which has been anticipated to decide on the case in recent weeks, instead ordered the release of the recount report to Ms. Robredo and Mr. Marcos.

The report, submitted by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, contains the result of the vote recount in the pilot provinces of Iloilo, Camarines Sur, and Negros Oriental.

The pilot provinces were chosen by Mr. Marcos based on the claim that these areas are where cheating occurred during the May 2016 elections.

THE PET also asked the parties to comment on the report and submit their respective memorandum regarding the third cause of action filed by Mr. Marcos, which is to annul the vice presidential result in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Maguindanao.

SC Public Information Chief Brian Keith F. Hosaka earlier said Mr. Caguio and Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio dissented from the PET’s order.

Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin on Wednesday said the PET ruling is part of due process.

Ms. Robredo’s legal counsel, Romulo B. Macalintal, said on Tuesday that they “would still insist that the petition, the protest of Mr. Marcos should be dismissed.”

“On the basis of the Caguioa report, on the basis of the revision reports that we have, there is no substantial discovery proven by Mr. Marcos in his election protest,” he said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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