Court again defers action on Marcos election suit

THE SUPREME Court has again deferred action on the ballot recount results involving the vice presidential election protest of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.

The magistrates, sitting as members of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), did not take action on the case in Tuesday’s session, court spokesman Brian Keith F. Hosaka said in a mobile-phone message.

“The case remains pending and is still being deliberated by the members of the tribunal,” he said.

Mr. Marcos filed the election protest in 2016 against Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, who is now halfway through her term.

Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa submitted last month a report on the recount in three pilot provinces chosen by Mr. Marcos where massive cheating allegedly occurred. The three provinces were Iloilo, Negros Oriental and Camarines Sur.

Ms. Robredo has asked the tribunal to give her a copy of the report “to put to rest the speculations in the greater interest of transparency.”

The court has belied a Philippine Star column that said it had ruled 8-6 in favor of Mr. Marcos. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas