Citing massive cheating in the May 9 elections, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to file today with the Supreme Court his electoral protest in connection with the vice presidential race.
The protest came a month after the National Board of Canvassers proclaimed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo as the duly elected president and vice president, respectively.
Robredo, who ran under the ruling Liberal Party of outgoing resident Benigno Aquino III, won the vice presidential race with 14,418,817 votes, up by only 263,473 against the votes received by Marcos.
But the only son and namesake of the late strongman former President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared that the cheating carried out in the May 9 elections was massive and unprecedented because it has become institutionalized.
The young Marcos said he will present the “true results” of the elections so that he can assume the position that is being warmed up for him.
“We will definitely show the true results [and] “I will eventually take my seat that is being kept warm for me,” said Senator Marcos during a press conference at Annabel’s Restaurant in Quezon City on June 11.
His camp claimed around three million votes have not been counted.
Marcos stated that while he expected there would be irregularities in the polls, he did not expect it to be as uncouth and flagrant as what was carried out in the recent elections.
“I could not imagine that anyone could be so cavalier about the electoral protest and again this partisan effort over the elections was something that is unprecedented. And I think it reflects a lack of concern as to what people think—walang pakialam talaga. That is something that we have never anticipated. We never imagined that people holding high office could possibly behave in such a manner.”
Marcos said his legal team is confident that they have enough evidence to establish massive fraud in the elections as he pointed out that a lot of people have offered their help to his protest by presenting evidence of the massive cheating.
Marcos added he owes it to the more than 14 million who voted for him as well as to those whose votes were not counted because what is at stake is the integrity of the elections.
Marcos also noted that the cheating was institutionalized and so massive that perpetuators have covered all aspects of the elections.
He directly accused the Aquino administration through the Commission on Elections and its automated election project partner Smartmatic Corp. of perpetuating the massive fraud.
“Well we see that the problems were with Comelec and the problems were with Smartmatic. Now who was behind all of that? I think we will slowly be able to show that, because the only people who can institutionalize this kind of cheating is the administration,” Marcos said.
The senator said that cheating was not only limited to vote-buying but also covered wholesale ballot shading and tampering with the transmission system.