Time for poll answers

This is hardly what Leni and her election lawyers want to happen, since this may prove to be a dangerous path for her to walk, since there is always the possibility of her being stripped of her vice-presidential title.

The first 10 of the 20 days given by the Supreme Court (SC) in its capacity as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to both parties to comment after the PET set aside the decision on former senator Bongbong Marcos’ protest against Vice President Leni Robredo has yet to land in the SC. Already yet another “wrinkle” has cropped up on a side issue — the argument over the holding of special elections for the vice presidency in some Muslim Mindanao provinces.

Robredo’s camp says it is much too early to discuss the conduct of special elections for vice president as Marcos’ protest is still facing dismissal before the PET. Robredo’s lawyer, Emil Marañon, stated that a special poll is a very remote possibility.

Probably true, since the issue before the PET is not whether special vice-presidential elections are to be held, but going by the Marcos third course of action, what is at issue, at this time, is for the annulment of votes in at least three provinces mentioned in his protest, while Leni’s calls for the dismissal of the Marcos protest will possibly be unheeded by the SC-PET, as the tribunal’s call is for both parties to provide their comments first.

For the PET not to have dismissed the Marcos protest could have something to do with SC Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa’s dissenting opinion that majority of the justices didn’t take at face value the issue, as well as Caguioa’s release of the vote numbers that hewed closely to the Leni revisors’ claim.

The answers, which are expected to be different from what the two parties would be explaining through their comments, are very likely to be made public, with one party commenting on the other party’s comment.

It will of course be the PET that will decide whether or not to annul — and probably not hold — the elections in the named Muslim provinces.

Of course, this is hardly what Leni and her election lawyers want to happen, since this may prove to be a dangerous path for her to walk, since there is always the possibility of her being stripped of her vice-presidential title, which is why Leni and her poll lawyers quickly sought the dismissal of the Marcos protest.

But Robredo can rest easy on the issue of holding a special election, even as she and her lawyers are probably dreading the thought of going through another election, as she and her yellow supporters certainly know that another election — as it will be a special one where all eyes — including national eyes — would be on the three provinces. Worse, the yellow vote is just still highly unpopular and the results may just oust Leni from her declared seat faster than a PET ruling on the issue, considering the fact that three years have passed and the Tribunal’s decision still hangs.

Another election and another recount and revision may just take three more years, and by that time, Leni’s term would have been over, in which case, the Tribunal’s decision would be declared “moot,” which is the usual style of ruling expected from the Tribunal.

It is of course the yellows, that include a former Chief Justice (CJ) who can’t erase the fact that he and his colleagues went against the 1987 Constitution when they ousted then sitting President Joseph “Erap” Estrada on an invented claim that does not exist in law and the Constitution, declaring Estrada having “constructively resigned,” especially as the then president had not resigned, was not permanently incapacitated, died or was impeached and convicted.

Whatever he says won’t be worth a cent, being meaningless.

Yet now the former CJ insists that there has to be an election should the PET annul the elections in some parts of Mindanano, while a former chairman of the Commission on Elections, Sixto Brillantes, insists that no elections can be held in connection with the electoral protest of Marcos since elections are highly unlikely.

Brillantes was quoted as saying that the “Election is over. This is for the annulment of results, not for failure of elections. There can be no more special elections.”

He added that the failure of elections could be declared only if the election is not over and there has been no proclamation yet.

“You’ll have special elections so that we will know the winner, the one that should be proclaimed. And Leni has already been proclaimed. Marcos just wants the votes annulled,” he stressed.

As for Leni’s lawyers, they continue to fall back on their Rule 65 protest and their plea for the protest dismissal.

But that which is important to the Filipino electorate is not to get the protest dismissed since, once again, voters will never know whether their votes were again thwarted and by these cheating automated machines.

The people deserve to know whether the person holding the official title of vice president is legitimately entitled to the post. It is the least the High Court can do for the Filipino people who have been screwed too many times in elections via automated fraud.

Quit the dismissal plea. Focus instead of the parties’ comments where explanations are a better path to take.