Robredo tells PET: No 'sensitive' info revealed by camp

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has maintained that her camp has not given “sensitive information” to the public on the ongoing vote recount for the vice presidential race.

“In all the media interviews since the start of the recount, counsels and representatives of protestee Robredo have never revealed any sensitive information,” the vice president, through her legal counsel Romulo Macalintal, told the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Robredo has filed a 13-page compliance with the PET’s show cause order on their camp, and former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s, violation on the tribunal’s earlier resolutions warning of sub judice.

A sub judice rule is a prohibition on discussing a case that is pending in court.

The vice president has asserted that her counsels and representatives “have always respected and abided by the orders and processes of the Honorable Tribunal.”

She has asked for the tribunal’s “indulgence and understanding” on their actions “which might have offended the sensitivities” of the PET.

The tribunal, in five-page resolution dated April 10, ordered the camps of Robredo and Marcos to explain why they should not be cited in contempt for violating warnings on public statements on the recount.

The PET reminded the two parties that they were earlier ordered to “strictly observe” the sub judice rule in a resolution dated February 13. The directive was reiterated in another resolution dated March 20.

Statements in defense of Robredo, recount process

Robredo, however, pointed out that it was the camp of Marcos that continued to release “misleading statements designed to cast doubt on the integrity of the recount proceedings and condition the mind of the public on the outcome of his election process.”

The vice president recalled that as early as April 2—the first day of the ballot recount—Marcos and his spokesperson Vic Rodriguez have given media interviews claiming of wet ballots and missing audit logs.

Marcos’ claims were also parroted in his social media accounts and bloggers.

Robredo’s camp also cited media reports citing unnamed sources that seem to report “real time” with the proceedings.

To recall, revisor committees are not allowed to have their mobile phones during the conduct of recount. The tribunal put up lockers for the three revisors—head revisor from PET, and one each from the two camps—to store their belongings while inside the revision venue.

They stressed that Marcos’ claims spread “misinformation” to the public.

“Thus, if only to correct misinformation, counsel for [Robredo] was constrained and duty bound to correct the falsehoods of protestant Marcos,” the vice president’s camp added.

“Any statements made were in defense of the rights, honor and integrity not only of protestee Robredo but of the entire recount proceedings,” they also said.

Marcos is accusing Robredo of cheating her way to the vice presidency. She won over the son of the late dictator by a slim margin of 260,000 votes.

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