PRESS RELEASE                                                                                                             Refer to: Ms. Dale Zapata

29 June 2005                                                                                                                    8332148/8334507

NOLI IS THE LEGITIMATE AND DULY ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT

Loren Legarda is dreaming if she thinks she won as VP. She is an ambitious politician and she will say anything just to be in debating distance with the duly elected Vice President. This was the response of the camp of Vice President Noli de Castro in relation to Legarda’s presentation of alleged new evidence against him.

There is neither factual nor legal basis for the “bogus computations” presented to media because Loren does not have a complete set of the original election returns in all the mentioned municipalities and provinces. She cannot accurately come up with the total votes received by both VP candidates and determine the difference because her tabulation is based on incomplete data.

During the national canvassing, the Statement of Votes (SOVs) per municipality and per province were likewise examined by the parties for tabulation and compared with the results in the Certificates of Canvass (COCs) but no discrepancies were noted. Moreover, results in Quezon City and Ilocos Norte were not earlier contested as part of her election protest.

Meanwhile, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said- “We dare her to put her allegations and computations under oath if she believes them to be true and we will file perjury charges against her. That is the unfair strategy of proponents of disinformation- hit now, explain later. Her computations are all bogus. We challenge her to submit her tenuous election complaints to the Supreme Court, Presidential Electoral Tribunal verified under oath on her signature if indeed she believes in what she is claiming.” Indeed, it is the Supreme Court that is the proper venue to ventilate legitimate legal issues and not mere propaganda, the VP camp emphasized.

VP counsel Atty. Armando Marcelo of Andres Marcelo Padernal Guerrero and Paras Law Offices added that Legarda also needs to deposit full payment for the expenses of the recount and not just a partial deposit, as this will delay the proceedings. Marcelo said that “Vice President De Castro has already filed months ago a motion to expedite the proceedings and to call for a preliminary conference preparatory to actual counting but Legarda has not complied with the Supreme Court’s order thus delaying the resolution of the election protest”.

All the claims of improper tabulation considered, Legarda could not even come close to one fourth of the lead of Vice President Noli de Castro which actually is at least 880,000 votes and not just 800,000 votes as again erroneously claimed by Legarda.

Ref no. VPMEDIA 05-079

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