MANILA — The law department of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will take charge of the poll body’s defense in the ongoing electoral protest case for the May 2016 vice presidential race at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez made the remark in response to Solicitor General Jose Calida’s decision not to represent them in the said case anymore.
“It would now seem that the Comelec is on its own,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
“This is actually not the first time that the SolGen took a side adverse to the interest of the government. It has happened before,” Jimenez added.
While he decided to leave the Comelec’s camp, Calida filed a manifestation supporting the 50-percent ballot shading threshold plea of former senator and vice presidential bet Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Earlier, the Comelec has manifested that the vote counting machines were configured for the May 2016 polls to count ovals with at least a 25 percent shade as being valid votes.
The said position supports the claims of Vice President Leni Robredo. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
