The Supreme Court should make a decision soon on Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s petition contesting his loss in the 2016 vice presidential race, Vice President Leni Robredo said today in an interview on the ANC talk show “Headstart.”
Bongbong, the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos, ran against Robredo for vice president and lost by almost 280,000 votes. He filed a petition in June of 2016 contesting the results, and a recount of votes was conducted in April of 2018 in Iloilo, Robredo’s home province of Camarines Sur, and Negros Oriental.
Results showed that Robredo’s lead over Bongbong in those provinces actually grew by 15,000 from the original results, but the Supreme Court has yet to decide on whether it should dismiss the latter’s electoral complaint.
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Bongbong’s camp has claimed that the 15,000-vote increase that Robredo gained in the recount was proof that the 2016 elections were filled with irregularities and that Robredo cheated Bongbong of the vice presidency.
Speaking about Bongbong’s protest, Robredo told host Karen Davila in English and Filipino, “I wish the [electoral] protest is dismissed [by the Supreme Court] because it has become an avenue for more lies. It has become a blank form for lies to propagate and those who are on the losing end are those who believe in it. The sooner that the protest is ended, the better it is for everyone, not just for myself, because I know the truth, Karen.”
Two weeks ago, Bongbong had lamented that he was robbed of three years of the vice presidency. However, Robredo hit back at the time, saying that between the two of them, she’s not the one with the habit of stealing — a pointed reference to the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth.
In today’s interview, Robredo, a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, was noncommittal about a possible run for the presidency in 2022, suggesting that such things can’t be planned in advance and are instead up to “destiny.”
She also insinuated that if she were planning a run, she wouldn’t spend so much time working “in the smallest, the farthest, the poorest of communities.”
“If I think about 2022, I will not go to those communities because it would be a waste of time; there are very few voters there,” Robredo said.
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“All of my political runs were unplanned,” she added. “From the time I ran for a seat at the House of Representatives until the vice presidency, for me those are all part of [my] destiny. Whatever is given to me now, I maximize whatever opportunities there are. If I’m all agog about 2022, I will not leave Metro Manila because the votes are here.”
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