JUST IN - PET orders Robredo to pay P8M initial cash deposit for protest fee within 5 days from notice of resolution...MUST READ THIS!
The Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), ordered Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday to pay the initial cash deposit of P8 million required to process her counter-protest.
Robredo has five days from notice to comply with the court's order which dismissed her plea to defer the payment of protest fee, according to SC spokesperson Theodore Te.
Robredo's lead counsel, lawyer Romulo Macalintal, earlier said they will comply with the high court's order should their motion is decided not on their favor.
"We will wait for the PET to resolve the matter," Macalintal said in a statement on April 20. "If the PET decides we should pay now, we will make the necessary payment."
Marcos then asked the PET to dismiss Robredo's counter-protest on the ground that she failed to post the initial cash deposit within the prescribed time limit.
He said Rule 34 of the 2010 Rules of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal empowers the body "to dismiss the protest or counter-protest or take such action as it may deem equitable under the circumstances."
Marcos also cited two cases where the SC upheld the dismissal of election protests for non-payment of cash deposits on time.
The tribunal, however, deferred action on Marcos' motion "until Robredo complies with the directive to pay the deposit," Te said.
Both camps were required to pay in two tranches, the first of which should have been received by April 14, which falls on a national holiday in observance of Good Friday.
Because of this, the payment for the first installment was processed the next working day, which was April 17.
Marcos was ordered to raise P36,023,000 for the first installment and P30,000,000 for the second installment.
Robredo, meanwhile, is required to pay P8,000,000 for the first installment, and P7,439,000 for the second installment.
The deadline for the payment of the second installment is July 14.
Marcos is contesting the poll results in 39,221 clustered precincts, which the Commission on Elections said are composed of 132,446 precincts, while Robredo is questioning the results in 8,042 clustered precincts which are composed of 31,278 precincts.
Marcos lost to Robredo by just 263,473 votes in the May 2016 election the former senator claimed was marred by fraud.
SOURCE : GMANETWORK
Loading...
Post a Comment