PET junks Marcos poll protest vs. Robredo

MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) on Tuesday announced that it has dismissed the electoral protest filed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo, contesting the results of the vice presidential race in the 2016 national polls.

“Out of 15 members of the tribunal who were present in today’s meeting, seven members fully concurred in the dismissal while eight concurred in the result,” SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said in an online briefing.

Hosaka added that the tribunal’s decision on PET Case No. 005 which Marcos filed against Robredo will be uploaded in the high court’s website once it becomes available.

In a statement, Marcos spokesman Victor Rodriguez declined to comment in the meantime, citing that they have yet to receive an official copy of the ruling.

“We shall issue our statement on the matter as soon as we have established the facts based on official document or pronouncement coming from the PET,” Rodriguez said.

Last November, the PET turned down motions filed by Marcos and solicitor-general Jose Calida seeking the recusal of Associate Justice Marvic Leonen from the election protest case.

Marcos is contesting the results of the elections and his defeat by Robredo by a margin of 263,473 votes in the 2016 vice presidential race.