Robredo camp: Bongbong’s electoral protest no surprise

The camp of Vice President-elect Leni Robredo on Wednesday said they have expected her closest rival, outgoing Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to file an electoral protest against her.

In an interview, Robredo's spokesperson, Georgina Hernandez, said Marcos' move provides them an opportunity to answer accusations that have been hurled against them in the proper forum.

"Sa amin ho, inaasahan na namin 'yung pag-file niya ng protesta, at pabor na rin po sa amin kung talagang mag-file sila ng protesta para masagot na rin 'yung mga katanungan ng publiko at magkaroon na rin ng linaw tungkol sa kanilang mga paratang at lumabas na rin 'yung katotohanan," she said.

She added: "Ang sa amin po, maganda na idaan sa pormal na proseso at sa tamang institusyon 'yung kanilang protesta."

Earlier, Marcos sought relief from the Presidential Electoral Tribunal—a body composed of SC magistrates. Marcos' poll protest came on the eve of Robredo's assumption into the vice presidency.

The outgoing senator is asking the PET to set aside Robredo's proclamation and instead declare him as the winner of the vice presidential race, where he lost by just 263,473 votes.

His camp is alleging a series of electoral frauds, anomalies, and irregularities, which they said was done to ensure the administration bet's victory. 

They added that they have gathered numerous testimonial and documentary evidence to establish violations committed by both Comelec and technology provider Smartmatic, notably in line with the "cosmetic" change made on the transparency server on election day.

Asked if they're confident the protest would only affirm Robredo's victory, Hernandez pointed out that the numbers were based on official documents.

"Ang pinanghahawakan po natin ay mga opisyal na dokumento—certificates of canvass, election returns na vinalidate at in-authenticate naman ng national board of canvassers at naging opisyal ang kaniyang pagkapanalo bilang proclaimed vice president," she said. 

She added that they would have to look into the protest first before making further comments on the matter. — RSJ, GMA News