Binay seeks dismissal of Roxas poll protest

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay asked the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to dismiss the electoral protest filed against him by Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, two years before the presidential poll in May 2016 where the two are expected to face off again.

Binay’s counsel Sandra Coronel confirmed that the vice president has asked the PET, composed of 15 justices of the Supreme Court (SC), to junk the protest for lack of merit and for being invalid. But the tribunal has not yet acted on the plea.

“We are hoping we can get (the case) out of the way by 2016,” Coronel told The STAR in a phone interview.

Coronel cited as one of the grounds the failure of Roxas to comply with all requirements under PET rules.

The lawyer said the camp of Roxas has not paid the docket fees, reportedly amounting to P166 million, or even a deposit as required by the rules, allegedly making the protest not valid.

“We have been questioning the validity of the protest due to failure of protestant to pay the required fees. Our position is that payment of fees and deposit should be mandatory for case to be valid,” Coronel explained.

The camp of Roxas asked the tribunal to first order a forensic examination of the contested ballot before they would pay the required amount.

In a manifestation with the PET, his lawyers insisted that deposit should only be paid when they ask for the opening of the contested ballot boxes.

But Binay’s camp opposed the plea.

“We have been objecting to forensic exam on the ground that the same is not sanctioned under PET rules until after boxes are opened. They want to reverse the procedure to avoid fees payment,” Coronel said.

The protest remains pending as the tribunal has not yet ruled on the prayer of Roxas for forensic exam, she added.

Binay announced his bid to run for president in 2016. A recent Pulse Asia survey showed him on top of the list of “preferred” presidential candidates for the next elections.

The survey, conducted from March 19 to 26, found Binay obtaining 40 percent of the votes of 1,200 respondents nationwide.

Roxas, said to be the ruling Liberal Party’s bet, placed sixth with six percent.