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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Robredo lawyers surprised by SC unanimous vote on poll protest

Robredo lawyers surprised by SC unanimous vote on poll protest

Published Feb 17, 2021 12:58 pm

The legal team of Vice President Leni Robredo was surprised by the unanimous vote of the members of the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), on Tuesday, February 16, to dismiss the electoral protest of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Vice President Leni Robredo
(Photo by Jansen Romero / MANILA BULLETIN)

For almost five years, the protest cast a shadow on the vice president’s election victory. Though the tribunal ruled in Robredo’s favor, her lawyers said it was still a surprise to them that it was a unanimous decision.

Lead lawyer Romulo Macalintal said they were hoping for an earlier decision on the case, but they still were not expecting to hear it last Tuesday.

“Hindi, hindi namin inaasahan. Nanonood nga ako ng NBA games eh bigla na lamang ako nakatanggap ng Viber message at photo shot nung news (No, no we were not expecting it. I was watching NBA games when I suddenly received a Viber message and photo shot of the news),” he said on CNN The Source.

Macalintal said even Robredo was not aware that PET was about to rule on the Marcos protest.

Both Robredo and Marcos have yet to receive a copy of the decision from the High Tribunal.

Supreme Court spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka announced that out of 15 justices who were present during Tuesday’s en banc session, “seven members fully concurred in the dismissal while eight justices concurred in the results.”

During the recount of three provinces in October 2019, the PET said that Robredo’s lead grew by 15,093 from the 5,415 clustered precincts in Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.  These pilot provinces were chosen by Marcos.

Robreo beat Marcos by a margin of 263,473 votes in the 2016 vice presidential race.

Ma. Bernadette Sardillo, also Robredo’s counsel, said on ANC Headstart they were also surprised by the fact that “the protest was dismissed without the dissenting opinion.” 

“You have there 15 justices with different opinions, so we were hopeful. We were always hoping that the justices will rule in our favor to see (the) light in (our) arguments but, of course, until you get the decision, you can’t be 100 percent confident of the outcome of the case,” she added.

Aside from Macalintal and Sardillo, Robredo’s legal team was comprised of lawyers Emil Marañon, Ace Bautista, Reagan de Guzman, and Jazmin Banal.

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