By Benjamin Pulta/PNA
MANILA — Opposing camps contending the results of the 2016 vice presidential election results are at odds over a motion filed by lawyers of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in connection with irregularities in votes from three provinces in Mindanao.
In an “extremely urgent motion of grave concern with omnibus motion”, Marcos’ counsels led by George Erwin M. Garcia has asked the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to subpoena the Voters Identification Division of the Commission on Elections-Election Records and Statistics Department (Comelec ERSD) to produce the documents involving its technical examination on the Voters Registration Records (VRRs) as against Election Day Computerized Voter’s List (EDCVL) of 508 established precincts in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan.
Marcos is also asking the PET to investigate all concerned chairmen and members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) who served in the three provinces to determine their involvement and participation as to the incidence of substituted voting.
The protestant also asked the tribunal to direct the Comelec ERSD to conduct a technical examination on the signatures and/or thumbprints appearing on the VRRs and EDVCLs of the entire 2,756 protested clustered precincts of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan.
“Protestant Marcos intends to use the results of the technical examination of the signatures and thumbprints appearing on the VRRs as against those appearing on the EDVCLs used during the last 9 May 2016 national and local elections as part of his evidence in support of his third cause of action, which is the annulment of the election results in the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao,” the Marcos camp said.
Lawyers of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo opposed the motion.
