By Rey Panaligan
The manual recount and revision of ballots in the three provinces of the 27 provinces and cities involved in the vice presidential protest of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos may encounter delays.
This apprehension came about as four head revisors of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) were reported to have resigned yesterday.
Their names were not immediately available and there was no confirmation yet from the PET.
Both camps of Marcos and Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo have expressed apprehensions on the resignation of the four head revisors. They said the resignation and the lack of 10 more sets of revisors may delay the resolution of the vice presidential protest.
Earlier, the PET had determined that 50 sets of revisors would be enough to expedite the manual recount and revision of ballots contained in 1,400 ballot boxes retrieved from the provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental.
At the start of the proceedings on Monday, there were only 40 sets of revisors or 10 sets short of the desired 50 sets. The PET had said it would still accept applications for the position of head revisor who is an employee of the tribunal.
With the resignation, only 36 sets would be working daily from Monday to Friday to do the manual recount and revision.
Each set of revisors is composed of the head revisor (a PET employee) and a revisor each from the camps of Marcos and Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo.
Marcos, who filed the protest against Robredo in the 2016 election, had said the proceedings in the PET involving the ballots in the three provinces he had identified with “massive irregularities” may be finished in three months.
The result of the manual recount and revision would determine if the PET would still pursue the protest filed by Marcos in 24 other provinces and cities involving more than 131,000 more precincts.
The PET proceedings are being done behind closed-door at the 5th floor of the SC-Court of Appeals gymnasium on Padre Faura St., in Ermita, Manila.
In a statement, Marcos expressed surprise on the resignation of four head revisors whom, he said, underwent rigorous training and psychological evaluation before their selection.
