MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday challenged Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to withdraw his election protest if SD cards that allegedly prove election fraud fail to do so.
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Marcos should withdraw if the alleged data from 13 SD cards being decrypted by the Commission on Elections does not bolster the former senator's claim.
Macalintal also challenged lawyer Victor Rodriguez, spokesperson for the Marcos camp, to surrender his license to practice law to the Supreme Court for making "such irresponsible statements."
"It is highly ridiculous, if not outright frivolous, for Marcos and his camp to express excitement over the alleged 'data contained in the 13 SD cards', as if they had already won the election because no one knows, not even the Supreme Court justices nor the Comelec officials, what said 'data' are all about," Macalintal said.
A total of 13 out of the 26 decrypted SD cards found from unused vote counting machines (VCMs) were found to have data.
Macalintal, however, said that the data are "mere coded statements" not yet converted into their regular form to be understood by anyone.
In a statement, Rodriguez said that the "fact that data were found in supposedly untouched SD cards is proof that fraud had been committed in the May elections."
READ: Marcos: SD card data proves poll fraud
Macalintal, meanwhile, said that he is willing to surrender his license to practice law to the Supreme Court if the verification and examination of the 13 cards being decrypted proved the "massive fraud" the Marcos camp claims caused his loss to Robredo last May.
He added that he, Marcos and Rodriguez could file a Joint Manifestation before the Comelec. He also said that the Comelec should suspend the verification of the SD cards until an agreement has been signed.
"I believe this is the best and most suitable way to put an end to this controversy and for the entire electorate and the Filipino people to find out who is telling the truth- Marcos or Robredo- regarding the alleged data found on these 13 SD cards," Macalintal said.
Macalintal added that they agreed for the SD cards to be examined despite maintaining their stand that the cards are not part of the protest "for purpose of transparency and to prove that Robredo is not hiding anything."
Macalintal said that Marcos' claim of "massive electoral fraud" was irresponsible and uncalled for and asked them to apologize.
"They should apologize to the Filipino people once it is shown and proved that their statement, like a vagrant, had no visible means of legal or factual support as they are baseless and clearly self-serving" Macalintal said.
Marcos ran for vice president in the May 2016 elections but lost to Robredo by a slim margin. He filed an election protest before the Supreme Court, as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, questioning his loss.