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Thursday, March 28, 2024

PET hit for failure to inform Leni’s camp on Negros ballots

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The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday assailed the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal for its failure to inform parties of the retrieval of ballot boxes from Negros Oriental.

Romulo Macalintal, Robredo’s lawyer, filed a manifestation to question PET, saying PET called both parties to a Sept. 13 meeting to discuss details about the collection and retrieval of ballot boxes from the province.

“However, the meeting was canceled,” he said. Instead, on Sept. 13, Thursday, both camps were merely informed, by e-mail, that the estimated expenses pegged at P8.64 million, which will be deducted from the cash deposit of losing vice presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” Macalintal said.

He said the schedule for retrieval—set from Sept. 17 to Sept. 19— was included in the e-mail.

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Macalintal, however, clarified they are not opposing the scheduled collection and retrieval of the ballot boxes in Negros Oriental per se, but said “the parties should have been given sufficient lead time to prepare for the PET activity.”

“Sadly, the short notice, compounded by the incoming typhoon, has rendered preparations for the scheduled retrieval doubly difficult,” he said.

“While protestee Robredo understands the constraints faced by the retrieval team, due consideration should also have been given to the parties,” he raised.

Marcos, who lost in the 2016 vice presidential race, filed an electoral protest against Robredo and questioned the results in three provinces — Negros Oriental, Camarines Sur and Iloilo.

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