Leading VP candidate Leni Robredo during the thanksgiving mass in Ateneo Church of the Gesu. INQUIRER PHOTO / JILSON SECKLER TIU
THE LIBERAL Party (LP)聽 vice presidential candidate, Leni Robredo, on Sunday claimed victory in the electoral race, saying it was mathematically impossible for her closest rival, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to catch up with her.
鈥淚t鈥檚 irreversible. We have won,鈥� the Camarines Sur congresswoman told a big crowd of supporters from a makeshift stage at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.
Robredo鈥檚 claim of victory has basis because her camp has copies of election returns (ERs), according to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).
PPCRV vice chair Johnny Cardenas said Robredo鈥檚 camp had official copies of the ERs that may have yet to be transmitted by the transparency server of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Asked to comment on Robredo鈥檚 claim of winning聽 the vice presidential race, Cardenas said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 possible.鈥�
Boyet Dy, head of Robredo鈥檚 campaign policy unit, said publicly available data showed it would be 鈥渕athematically impossible鈥� for Marcos to overcome her advantage.
鈥淏ased on the Comelec tally on its website as of 2 p.m., up to 99.51 percent of the returns from cities and municipalities have come in. Only nine municipalities have not turned in COCs (certificates of canvass),鈥� he said.
As of Sunday afternoon, a total of 1,643 out of 1,651 COCs had been transmitted to the Comelec鈥檚 central server.
These are to be canvassed by Congress next week and are separate from the quick-count tabulation on the Comelec鈥檚 transparency server.
The remaining COCS, according to Dy, are from Rizal, Laguna; Allen, Northern Samar; Catarman, Northern Samar; Lope de Vega, Northern Samar; Binidayan, Lanao del Sur; Masiu, Lanao del Sur; Tamparan, Lanao del Sur; Indanan, Sulu; and Bacungan, Zamboanga del Norte.
Dy said these municipalities had 168,988 registered voters. By his logic, Robredo would still come out on top even if all these votes went to Marcos, as Robredo was enjoying a lead of 257,567 votes as of 聽Sunday afternoon.
He also said all 鈥渦ncounted votes,鈥� including the remaining local and overseas absentee votes, as well as untransmitted local votes, totaled 233,226. Even if all these votes went to Marcos, Robredo would win by a hairline 24,341 votes.
Dy did not say where he got the 257,567 figure, but based on the transparency server made available to the public, Robredo鈥檚 lead was 219,224聽 as of Sunday afternoon.
The Senate and the House of Representatives are expected to convene as the national board of canvassers for the presidential and vice presidential votes next week.
鈥淣umbers do not lie. Because of this, we wholeheartedly say that no one can stop Leni Robredo. We have full trust that she is our next Vice President,鈥� Dy said.
Addressing the allegations of fraud, Robredo said, 鈥淵ou know I would never allow myself to be used either as an instrument or recipient of cheating.鈥�
Her campaign team has also begun to refer to Robredo as 鈥淰ice President-elect.鈥�