Bongbong Marcos said that it is clear in the law that the counter-protest of Leni Robredo can be dismissed for failing to pay to the Supreme Court the initial deposit as ordered by the Supreme Court. They can argue all they can but they should comply first.
Youtube video by; ABS-CBN News
[VIDEO]: The lawyer of former senator Bongbong Marcos is accusing the camp of VP Leni Robredo of delaying the election protest proceedings after the latter sought clarification from the tribunal about its order that she pay for her protest.
Willing to Pay
Robredo’s legal counsel, Maria Bernadette Sardillo said that they are willing to pay the amount, but only at a later time after the tribunal resolves their motion to determine that there is a basis for the recount to happen. The Marcos camp also asks the Supreme Court to lower the bond based on the number of clustered precincts involved and not per registered precinct.
No Capacity to Pay Yet
Sardillo said that Robredo does not have the capacity to pay the P15 million. This is the reason why they need to come up with the funds. This is fairly difficult at the first tranche of P8 million. The PET requires this payment for the expenses of ballot recount in more than 8,000 clustered precincts. The Vice President’s 2015 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth shows that her net worth is only at ₱8.7 million.
Robredo cannot Solicit
Since Robredo is a public official, she cannot solicit like what Marcos did. Based on Republic Act 6713, officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties. This is why they are buying time to come up with an acceptable source of funds.
Marcos’ Advantage
Marcos is now a private citizen and thereby can collect donations. The ₱36 million he paid to the PET was from friends and supporters collected complete the first tranche in a manager’s check. If the tribunal sets Marcos’ protest in motion, his lawyer is confident that three material witnesses can directly prove fraud in the vice-presidential election. He insinuates that they are in a protective custody right now and their testimony will be very very damaging to Robredo, Rodriguez said.
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/04/18/marcos-robredo-counter-protest-funding.html
Macalintal is obviously delaying the proceedings and the PET tolerates it… HAWAK SA LEEG?