Robredo camp: Marcos should apologize over poll fraud 'proof'

MANILA, Philippines — Was former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos ill-advised by his lawyers on his recent claim of electoral fraud as shown on ballot images?

Romy Macalintal, counsel of Vice President Leni Robredo, said that Marcos may have been mistaken when he claimed that he has "evidence" supposedly proving that Robredo "had manipulated the voting and trampled upon the true will of the people on their choice for vice president."

Marcos, in a press conference last January 29, pointed out that the ballot images contained squares that were not originally in the document.

READ: Marcos presents evidence showing poll fraud in 2016

"When we voted, we had the oval shapes. How come in the ballot images, the ovals are gone and instead we have the squares. What does this mean?" the former senator said.

But Macalintal said that this was discussed in a briefing by the Commission on Elections and Smartmatic with the political parties before the May 2016 national elections.

"The squares enclosing the votes are a new feature of the 2016 elections. These squares capture those markings that meet the minimum 25% threshold set by Comelec," Robredo's counsel told reporters.

"Maybe Marcos was ill-advised," Macalintal said, adding that the former senator should make a public apology for his "mistake."

'Marcos should apologize'

While Robredo's lawyer said that he does not think that the Marcos camp deliberately "fooled" the people in claiming fraud shown in the documents, Macalintal said that they have been mistaken.

For the veteran elections lawyer, Marcos may have only been "too excited, only to find later on that he was wrong."

He added that the late dictator's son did not apologize for the mistake. "He should issue a public apology," Macalintal said.

Macalintal in a press conference last week pointed out that the Marcos camp also signed a joint manifestation, and not a joint motion, that would signify his challenge to the Robredo camp to withdraw all pending motions at the tribunal.

READ: Robredo camp: Marcos signed wrong pleading 

The camp of Robredo filed the motion to withdraw all pending appeals that may delay the recount last February 8.

The election recount is scheduled on March 19.

Marcos, the son of the ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has accused Robredo of cheating her way to the second highest office in the land. He lost to the former Camarines Sur representative and human rights lawyer by a slim margin of about 260,000 votes in the 2016 national elections.

If Marcos wins in his electoral protest, this will mean a massive step in the efforts made by his family to rehabilitate and regain the presidential palace 32 years after their patriarch was ousted from power.