16 February 2017•Update: 16 February 2017
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines
The Philippines’ Supreme Court has denied a motion by Vice President Leni Robredo to dismiss an election protest by the son of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, her rival in the 2016 polls.
Robredo was declared to have defeated former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in the May 9, 2016 vote for the vice presidency by a narrow margin -- resulting in Marcos’ protesting of her proclamation before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
She had asked that the court reject Marcos’ petition for a recount of more than a million votes.
Marcos released Thursday an eight-page resolution by the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET, deeming his protest “sufficient in form and substance”.
News broadcaster ABS-CBN cited the resolution as saying, “while the Tribunal finds the Protest sufficient in form and substance, it must be emphasized that, as to the veracity of the protestant's allegations, nothing yet has been proved.”
It added that the protest “is only sufficient for the tribunal to proceed and give the protestant the opportunity to prove his case in accordance with the 2010 PET Rules".
After Robredo was declared to have won by around 260,000 votes, Marcos contested the election results from 39,000 precincts of 25 provinces and five cities.
He also asked for the nullification of balloting in three predominantly Muslim southern provinces.
In December, Robredo resigned as the cabinet secretary of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, saying she had been told to “desist from attending all Cabinet meetings”.
Robredo -- who hails from the Liberal Party of President Rodrigo Duterte’s predecessor -- has criticized Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs which has left more than 2,500 dead in police operations according to national police figures.
She has also opposed his decision to allow the burial of Ferdinand Marcos in the country’s heroes’ cemetery.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Duterte referred to the protest while visiting China in October when he said “if [Bongbong] wins in his protest, he could be our vice president”.
