No objection to Congress’ canvassing of votes: Robredo camp

MANILA – The camp of the presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday said they will not object to the inclusion of all the certificates of canvass (COCs) in the tallying of votes for president in the last May 9 elections.

In a manifestation during the Congress’ canvassing of the votes for the presidential and vice presidential races, Robredo’s election counsel Atty. Romulo Macalintal reiterated the vice president’s previous pronouncement to “accept the decision of the majority”.

“In her public statement, VP Leni Robredo asked her supporters that we need to accept the decision of the majority. Sinabi niya, bagaman may hindi pa nabibilang, bagaman may mga tanong ukol sa eleksyon na ito na kailangang matugunan, palinaw na ng palinaw ang tinig ng taumbayan (She said that while there are still votes not tallied, or questions regarding the election left unanswered, the voice of the people is getting clearer and clearer),” Macalintal said.

He told Congress which convened as the National Board of Canvassers that the Robredo camp would also waive their appearance during the proceedings.

“And with that continuing manifestation your honors may we be allowed to respectfully waive our appearance before this joint committee to further expedite its proceedings,” he added.

Atty. Vic Rodriguez, the spokesperson of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., thanked Robredo for her patriotism in recognizing the integrity of the result of the presidential elections.

“We join in the manifestation of my distinguished colleague and one of the election law practitioners, Atty. Romulo “Romymac” Macalintal. Likewise, we would like to recognize and thank the patriotism exhibited by Vice President Leni Robredo for expressly recognizing the integrity and the result of the recently-concluded general elections,” Rodriguez said.

Based on unofficial tally by the Commission on Elections, Marcos won via landslide after garnering more than 31 million votes while Robredo garnered 14.81 million votes in the presidential race.

Positive development

Malacañang on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the camp of Robredo to expedite the canvassing of votes.

“The decision of the camp of Vice President Ma. Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo to expedite the canvassing of votes for President is a positive development,” acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press statement.

He reiterated his call to all political candidates to respect the outcome of the elections.

“As we earlier articulated, let us respect the outcome of the election and give chance to the winning candidates to fulfill their campaign platform,” he added.

In a May 12 public address, Duterte said he is convinced that there was no cheating or other voting irregularities in the recent polls.

He, however, urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate cheating allegations including the 2,000 vote-counting machines (VCMs) that malfunctioned.