VICE President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo has asked the Supreme Court to reverse its decision denying her motion to use as a shading threshold the threshold used by the Commission on Elections in the 2016 automated elections.
In her pleading, Robredo urged the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to use the 25-percent threshold in the revision, recount and reappreciation of votes.
The PET is using the 50-percent threshold in revising the votes from over 5,000 ballot boxes from three provinces in relation to the election protest filed by losing candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Robredo claims that the Comelec on the May 9, 2016 polls considered the ovals that are 25-percent shaded as counted.
She argued that the said threshold should be used by the SC as the application of the 50-percent threshold, now being used by the PET, gives the head revisors the authority to reject her "valid" votes.
"While protestee Robredo may claim that these ballots as valid votes in her favor, discretion is now given during the appreciation of ballots on whether these valid votes should be given back to her," the motion said.
"Valid votes are not counted during the physical count, while counted validly by the VCM, (Vote Counting Machine) as they failed to meet the 50 percent threshold used by the Honorable Tribunal," the motion added.
The PET earlier junked Robredo's motion.
It said that the Robredo's claim is inaccurate and that they do not know of any Comelec resolution that mandates the use of the said standard.
"Protestee's claim that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as purportedly confirmed by the Random Manual Audit Guidelines and Report applies the 25% threshold percentage in determining a valid vote is inaccurate," the SC said.
"The Court is not aware of any Comelec Resolution that states the applicability of a 25% threshold; and the Tribunal cannot treat the Random Manual Audit Guidelines and Report as proof of the threshold used by the Comelec," it added.
The SC invoked Rule 15, Section 6 of the Resolution No. 8804 which states that any shading less than 50 percent shall not be considered a valid vote and the 2010 PET rules which likewise imposes a 50 percent threshold.
Marcos' spokesman Vic Rodriguez in a statement said that Robredo's invocation of the 25-percent threshold rule is erroneous.
He said that the Comelec rule Robredo is invoking was implemented only months after the May 2016 elections, contrary to what Robredo claims.
"Since it is the Rules of the Tribunal that shall apply, her invocation of the 25% threshold rule is erroneous as it was made by the Comelec only on 6 September 2016, four months after the elections," Rodriguez said.
The lawyer alleged that the 25 percent threshold is an obvious ploy on the part of the Comelec, then led by the impeached chairman Andres Bautista, to favor Robredo once revision process begins.
"Robredo should stop accusing the PET of systematically reducing her votes and casting aspersions meant to debase its integrity," he ended. (VoxPop Philippines)
