FEARING that thousands of votes would be disenfranchised, the supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday urged the Commission on Elections not to abandon the 25-percent shading threshold it had set for the 2016 elections.
This was following the Presidential Electoral Tribunal’s rule on the use of the 50-percent threshold in the protest case of former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who claims he was cheated in the vice presidential race that was won by Leni Robredo in 2016.
The supporters of Robredo, led by running priest Robert Reyes Sr., Marj John Mananzan and former Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, went before the Comelec headquarters to hand a letter and also express concern over the developments in the ongoing recount of the votes for the vice presidential race, particularly on the 50-percent threshold instead of the 25-percent threshold used in the 2016 polls.
“That [the 50-percent threshold] is no longer a recount. That is counting anew and if they will use that [50-percent threshold] they should also do a recount of all the [winning candidates] including President [Rodrigo] Duterte,” Mananzan said reacting to the PET’s decision.
In a one-page letter, Robredo’s supporters asked the Comelec to stand firmly with the 25-percent threshold that they have set and influence the PET about the ruling.
“In order for truth to come out and for the people’s choice to prevail, the rule of law must be followed and consistently implemented,” the supporters said.
“Comelec should not waver, it should not abandon its position.”
When asked if they believed that the Comelec would meddle in the affairs of the PET, Mananzan and Reyes said they were not losing hope.
“We are appealing to their integrity and love for the country and to their sense of order and procedure. We believe they will heed our call,” Mananzan said.
“To the Comelec, be faithful to your mandate, to the people and not to someone else. You have the mandate to protect the people’s will, not somebody’s will,” Reyes said.
Rosales said the PET must listen to the Comelec, citing “common sense and logic.”
The Comelec, during the past press conferences, had consistently said that cases under the PET were outside their jurisdiction.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body would brief the PET with its position “at the proper time [and] through the proper channels.”
Last week, Robredo’s camp said she might have lost at least 21,000 votes as a result of the tribunal’s ruling that only the ballots that were shaded at least 50 percent should be counted as valid votes.
Robredo filed a motion for reconsideration calling for the PET to reverse its earlier decision.
The PET then asked the Comelec to comment on Robredo’s motion in 10 days.