Ms. Ronadale Zapata
                                                                                                                                               83321148/8334507

                                                                          

 

STATEMENT OF VP DE CASTRO LAWYER ON LEGARDA’S WITHDRAWAL OF PROTEST IN MINDANAO PROVINCES

VP LAWYERS ASK, WHY DID LEGARDA CHICKEN OUT OF HER PROTEST?
06 November 2005



The lawyers of Vice President Noli de Castro ask - Why did Loren chicken out of her protest covering the Lanao del Norte and Surigao del Sur provinces?  They believe that Legarda’s move to withdraw part of her protest is prejudicial to the Vice President since he is now being deprived of his chance to clear his name after Legarda accused him of cheating in the Mindanao provinces.


According to Atty. Armando Marcelo of the Andres Marcelo Padernal Guerrero & Paras Law Offices, counsel for the Vice President, Legarda's sudden flip-flop should be a serious concern for the PET, the Vice President and the Filipino people.  Marcelo pointed out that de Castro had earlier filed a motion to dismiss the protest with respect to Lanao del Norte and Surigao del Sur for insufficiency in substance. "Clearly, Legarda is more concerned with maligning the Vice President’s reputation than exposing the truth," said Marcelo. "It is now obvious that she has absolutely no basis to accuse the Vice President of cheating. Apparently, she pulled all of her accusations out of thin air. In the process she is wasting the valuable time of the Vice President and the PET, not to mention the taxpayers' money, with her baseless protest."


Last Thursday, Legarda filed an urgent motion before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to allow her to drop 21 municipalities from the protest, citing financial reasons and lack of evidence.


Asked about Legarda's recent move, Vice President Noli de Castro said, "This only proves what I have been saying from the start.  Her protest has absolutely no basis and the initial retabulation of the votes in the Mindanao provinces will prove it.  Her claims are mostly unfounded and that is the reason she is
withdrawing her protest."  De Castro also maintained that – “I would have been vindicated when all the
ballots are finally recounted.”


VP’s counsel Atty. Marcelo also expressed concern over the true purpose behind Legarda's withdrawal and the facts that she may be trying to hide.  According to him, her sudden withdrawal is suspicious, specially considering that de Castro won in those provinces. "What did she find out after she reviewed the Election Returns for Lanao del Norte and Surigao del Sur?" asked Marcelo. "Perhaps she finally realized that the Vice President really won and all her accusations are not supported by the records.  She sounded so sure about her protest before, but apparently she was mistaken.  Maybe her entire protest is one big mistake, as we have always maintained before the PET."