Supporters of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday staged a lightning rally in front of the summer courthouse of the Supreme Court (SC) in Baguio City to appeal the prompt resolution of his pending vice presidential electoral protest against Leni Robredo.
“We are calling on the honorable magistrates of the Supreme Court for the speedy resolution of the electoral case filed by the true Vice President [Bongbong Marcos, or BBM] of the land so he can start serving the nation with his mandate. It has been more than a thousand days since BBM’s case was filed and we find this unacceptable for those who voted for him,” Frank Esquilon, president of the Marcos Pa Rin Group, said in Filipino.
Last month, Marcos, along with his supporters, held a candlelight vigil in front of the Supreme Court in Manila to mark the 1,000th day of his protest. Close to a thousand people clad in red shirts attended the event. Some even stayed overnight to accompany Bongbong’s legal counsel Atty. George Garcia in filing a motion the following day.
The group reiterated the earlier motion of the young Marcos calling on the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to conduct a technical examination of the election returns and Election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVLs) from the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.
Bongbong’s camp referred to the findings of the Voters Identification Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-Election Record and Statistics Department (Comelec-ERSD), which conducted a technical examination in response to the election protest of former Sulu Vice Governor Abdusakur Tan against former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman.
The report showed that in 508 precincts, 40,528 signatures and 3,295 thumbprints in the EDCVLs were not identical with the Voter’s Registration Receipts.
“There’s very clear evidence that there was massive substituted voting in the provinces mentioned by the Commission on Elections. For this to remain unnoticed is a huge mistake that may create an impact on our electoral system. We respectfully urge Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin to move and guide the PET and resolve the issue,” said Charlie Nerona, president, Friends of Rody Duterte.
The group also lauded Marcos for choosing to continue with his election protest despite the prodding from various sectors encouraging him to run for office in the upcoming 2019 senatorial elections.
“His decision not to run but rather continue with his protest is truly admirable. This shows a strength of character, something that most of our leaders lack nowadays. A lesser leader would have buckled under that kind of tremendous pressure,” Esquilon said.
They added that they are in full support of Marcos’s election protest, and his fight for truth and justice for the Filipino people. “We believe BBM when he said that he is fighting not only for himself but for the entire Filipino nation. We are ready to do our part by staying here as long as we can in order to convince the SC justices to do what is right for the country,” said Philip Terry, president of BBM Pangasinan.