Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday expressed hopes for a favorable ruling in the electoral protest filed against her by defeated candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in the 2016 elections.
鈥淲e have to trust the justice system,鈥� Robredo told reporters at the sidelines of an event in Pasig City, prior to the announcement on Tuesday by the Supreme Court sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), which it was deferring its decision and resetting the voting to next week.
鈥淸O]n my part, the decision will be based on data because there was a process,鈥� the Vice President said. 鈥淪o we do not see the possibility that it would be unfavorable [to us],鈥� she added.
Robredo said the PET鈥檚 decision would also be a test of the country鈥檚 judiciary. 鈥淭he issue here is bigger than both of us,鈥� she said.
In his protest lodged in June 2016, Marcos claimed that Robredo鈥檚 victory was marred by fraud and irregularities. The former senator, who lost by some 260,000 votes, chose three pilot provinces for a recount, namely Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Camarines Sur, that supposedly reflected poll anomalies.
Robredo鈥檚 legal counsels earlier claimed that the recount had widened Robredo鈥檚 lead, but the PET in July denied her camp鈥檚 motion for the tribunal to immediately resolve the protest, claiming that the additional votes from the three provinces were 鈥渕erely speculative.鈥�