Vice president-elect Leni Robredo leads a Holy Mass in commemoration of her late husband Sec. Jesse Robredo’s 58th birthday Friday at Eternal Gardens in Naga City, hours before Congress finished canvassing of votes for president and vice president. Robredo’s victory was affirmed when she garnered 14,418,817 votes, 263,473 votes ahead of closest rival Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who got 14,155,344.(MNS photo)
MANILA, May 30 (Mabuhay) – Set to be proclaimed vice president, Liberal Party’s Leni Robredo has urged her closest rival, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to “move on” and stop the lies on supposed poll cheating.
“Sa akin, pakiusap ko lang, tama na iyung pagsisinungaling, tama na iyung mind-conditioning kasi naapektuhan lahat,” Robredo said, hours ahead of her proclamation at the House of Representative.
“Hindi lang naman ako iyung biktima ng ginagawa nila, hindi lang iyung 14 million na bumoto sa amin, kundi buong sambayanan. Sana mag-move on na tayo,” said Robredo.
Robredo said that instead of making “unfair” accusations through the media, the Marcos camp may take their complaint to the proper forum, where they will be forced to provide evidence of alleged irregularities in the elections.
“Mas mabuti ngang ihain niya nang pormal iyung reklamo kaysa idinadaan sa media. Kasi tingin ko unfair, hindi lang sa akin, pero pati sa taumbayan na binibilog iyung paniniwala, binibilog iyung kaisipan sa mga bagay na wala namang pruweba,” she said.
Final vote tally on Friday showed that Marcos lost the vice presidential contest to neophyte rival Robredo by just over 263,000 votes.
Marcos insisted Saturday he was was gathering evidence for a potential “election protest.”
Marcos’ lawyer, George Garcia, said their repeated manifestation during the canvassing of the undervotes in the vice-presidential race, which he said was about 3.2 million undervotes, could be part of their protest.
Aside from the undervotes, Garcia said they will also raise the issues of Marcos’ receipt of zero votes in certain areas, and the malfunction of some vote-counting machines.
The Marcos camp has assured that they will respect the proclamation of Robredo as vice-president-elect.
Earlier on Monday, Robredo attended a thanksgiving mass with her family and supporters before heading to House of Representatives for the proclamation.
Robredo will be also busy after the proclamation with preparations for assuming office on June 30.
“Siguro after ngayong araw, iyung halos isang buwan na natitira, gugulin na sa paghahanda, siguro pag-aaralan kung ano iyung status ng opisinang papasukin, kung mayroong mga pagbabagong gagawin,” she said Monday in a chance interview.
The incoming vice president also called on her critics to give her a chance to prove herself.
“Iyung mga nagba-bash sa social media, naiintindihan ko iyun. It will take time bago nila matanggap na ako ang nanalo noong eleksyon. Pero sana, bigyan tayo ng pagkakataon na i-prove ang ating sarili,” she said. (MNS)