MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday said it was expecting the recount of the 2016 election results to start soon after the ballot boxes from the province of Camarines Sur are retrieved and transported to the Supreme Court in Manila.
In a radio interview, Maria Bernadette Sardillo, legal counsel of Robredo, said the process of retrieval of ballot boxes from Camarines Sur had started Monday and would last until Friday, per the Presidential Electoral Tribunal’s (PET) order in connection with the protest filed by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
After the retrieval of ballot boxes, these will be transported to a PET-designated area in Manila, where these will await recount, the date of which will be determined by the tribunal, according to Sardillo.
“Hinihintay din po namin kung ano ang sasabihin nila [We are waiting for their say on the matter],” said Sardillo.
Robredo said she wanted the process to be finished as soon as possible.
“Nasa best interest natin na matapos na siya sa lalong madaling panahon para hindi nagkakaroon ng avenue si Bongbong Marcos na patuloy na papaniwalain tayo sa mga bagay na hindi naman totoo,” said Vice President Robredo in an interview Tuesday afternoon, January 23.
[It is in our best interest for this to be finished the soonest possible time so Bongbong Marcos would no longer have the avenue to continue making us believe in the things that aren’t true.]
“Kasi ginagamit iyong proseso para magsabi ng mga hindi naman totoo [Because he is using the process to say things that aren’t true],” Robredo added.
Meanwhile, as to how long the recount would take, Sardillo said, “Ang isang presinto po, may minimum na 800 to 1,000 na balota. So iisa-isahin iyan [Every precinct has a minimum of 800 to 1,000 ballots. So that will be counted one by one].”
Marcos has identified three pilot provinces that best exemplify the frauds and irregularities he alleged in his protest. These are Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.
On the basis of the pilot provinces, the PET will determine whether it would proceed with the protest or dismiss the protest for failure of Marcos to make out his case.
