VP seeks more time for memo before SC ruling
VICE President Maria Leonor G. Robredo has asked the Supreme Court to give her more time to file a memorandum on the election protest of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos.
In a pleading, Ms. Robredo said she should be given the same amount of time given to Mr. Marcos, who is contesting the results of the 2016 vice presidential race. Ms. Robredo, who won by a hair, is already halfway through her six-year term.
A memorandum is usually the last of the pleadings submitted by the parties before a case is decided.
“It is respectfully prayed of the honorable tribunal that protestee Robredo be given an equal period of time as protestant Marcos to file her memorandum,” she said.
The high court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal last month deferred its ruling on the election case, instead ordering the release of the results of a ballot recount in three provinces that Mr. Marcos chose and where massive cheating allegedly took place.
The court also ordered the parties to comment on the recount results, where Ms. Robredo increased her lead over the son of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
It showed Ms. Robredo with 1.51 million votes now from the three provinces — Negros Oriental, Iloilo and Camarines Sur — compared with her opponent’s 204,512 votes. In 2016, Robredo got 1.49 million votes in these areas against Mr. Marcos’ 202,136 votes.
The additional votes come from ballots counted as stray for not following the 50% shading threshold. They were credited to her when the tribunal ruled to follow the 25% shading threshold.
Ms. Robredo’s camp said her lawyers needed more time to review the annexes to the high court’ most recent order.
“Inasmuch as protestee Robredo would like to comply with the Resolution dated October 15, 2019 and file her memorandum within 20 work days, she cannot do so,” according to her most recent motion.
Ms. Robredo defeated Mr. Marcos by just 263,473 votes in the 2016 vice presidential race, prompting him to allege cheating and contest the results. With an additional 15,093 votes from the recount, her lead in the national count went up to 278,566 votes. — Gillian M. Cortez
