Magnifying glasses come in different shapes and sizes. From the more common Sherlock Holmes type, there are now the plastic, credit card-type that are more handy. But just the same, their use is for magnifying small objects, including tiny printed letters on a document, to see them clearly. Children also used to play with magnifying glasses to direct sunlight on a paper to burn it.

When Nestor Borromeo, one of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s revisors in the ongoing election protest recount for vice presidential votes, used a similar plastic magnifying glass, Vice President Leni Robredo complained to the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) overseeing the recount at the gym of the SC-Court of Appeals building on Padre Faura, Manila.

Borromeo was using a prohibited item under PET rules and was allegedly trying to stray or invalidate valid votes of Robredo, the VP’s camp charged.

Marcos’ spokesperson Vic Rodriguez defended Borromeo, saying no one complained abouth the magnifier and it was only used to see better. Rodriguez accused Robredo of disrupting and delaying the recount with her childish protest.

How Borromeo’s magnifying glass can stray ballots deserves an answer. Maybe it should be examined by, what else, but another magnifying glass to see if it really does magic in a ballot recount.