MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his supporters should settle for the Presidential Electoral Tribunal’s dismissal of his ballot protest towards Vice President Leni Robredo, chief presidential authorized counsel Salvador Panelo mentioned Tuesday.
The Marcos camp has falsely claimed that the protest remains to be ongoing regardless of the unanimous dismissal by the Supreme Court docket, sitting because the PET.
However Panelo in an announcement launched by state-run Philippine Information Company mentioned: “The very fact of unanimity of resolution by the PET seems to validate VP Robredo’s win on the idea of legislation and of the proof offered earlier than it by each events.”
Whereas supporters of Marcos “might disagree with basic voters’ selection and think about the identical as incorrect”, they have to now “settle for the decision regardless of how fallacious or unacceptable to them,” he added. “That’s the rule of majority.”
“Now we have to abide by the precepts of democracy. We can’t be blinded by our private biases for a specific candidate. That’s how democracy works.”
In an announcement to reporters, Marcos’ lawyer Vic Rodriguez mentioned that the tribunal solely rejected their second reason for motion which lined the recount in Negros Oriental, Iloilo and Camarines Sur, and never their third reason for motion which urges the SC to void votes in Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Maguindanao.
READ: The Marcoses: A history of rejecting election defeats
However for Panelo, the “Presidential Electoral Tribunal has spoken” and it “behooves everybody to abide by it.”
He additional emphasised that due course of was afforded to each events and that “the rule of legislation has prevailed.”
“There’s all the time one other election to vindicate one’s loss or validate eternally one’s rejection by the voting inhabitants,” Panelo additionally mentioned.
Requested to touch upon the difficulty, Malacañang on Tuesday mentioned it respects the PET ruling.
Nonetheless, presidential spokesman Harry Roque throughout a televised briefing mentioned “we respect additionally that the camp of [former] Sen. Bongbong Marcos has an additional treatment of transferring for reconsideration.”
SC spokesperson Brian Hosaka declined to touch upon whether or not the choice could also be appealed.
Ought to an enchantment be filed, a reversal of the ruling could also be troublesome because the tribunal was unanimous in its resolution.
— Bella Perez-Rubio with reviews from Kristine Pleasure Patag and Xave Gregorio
