The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo said Tuesday the use of ballot images in 25 clustered precincts with wet and damaged ballots in Iloilo and Camarines Sur would only belie the election fraud alleged by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Robredo’s lawyer, Romulo Macalintal, said the ballot images would confirm the weakness of Marcos’ electoral protest.
She urged the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to deny Marcos’ motion to hold in abeyance the use of decrypted ballot images in Camarines Sur and Iloilo.
Earlier, the PET, in three separate resolutions, allowed the revision, recount, and re-appreciation of the decrypted ballot images in 25 clustered precincts after the original paper ballots were found to be wet or damaged.
Marcos’ camp raised these wet ballots when the revision started in April and opposed the use of the ballot images in his two motions dated July 5 and July 16.
“In fact, contrary to his claims, this is the first time since the revision, recount and re-appreciation of the ballots started in 02 April 2018 that protestant Marcos has raised the authenticity and reliability of the decrypted ballot images,” Macalintal said.
“Now, as no less than four documents consistently confirm the votes received by the parties and the results of the elections, protestant Marcos has resorted to misleading the Honorable Tribunal.”
Macalintal said Marcos sought the recount, revision, and re-appreciation not only of the official ballots but the ballot images as well when he designated his pilot provinces in his preliminary conference brief.
“Now that the decrypted ballot images will confirm the victory of protestee Robredo and his defeat, protestant Marcos is now assailing the integrity of his own evidence. This simply cannot be allowed,” Macalintal said.
“More importantly, this will belie the unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud, anomalies, and irregularities of protestant Marcos.”