Marcos suspects poll cheating

Screen grabbed from CNN news reports

Metro Manila — The camp of vice presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. suspects there is cheating in the elections.

Marcos' campaign adviser Jonathan Dela Cruz questions how Liberal Party vice presidential bet Leni Robredo caught up with Marcos's one-million vote advantage at the beginning of the unofficial count.
Early Tuesday (May 10), Robredo surpassed Marcos in the PPCRV-KBP's partial and unofficial tally of votes for vice president.

In an interview with EagleNews PH, Marcos said the results from his bailiwicks, particularly in the north, have not yet been reflected in the unofficial count.

He also said the LP is behind a "Plan B," in which Robredo, once declared the new vice president, will seek the impeachment of Rodrigo Duterte, after he takes office as president.

“Basta’t pinipilit nilang gawin na mauna si Robredo sa akin. Ang sistemang ginagawa nila ay iniipit yung boto ko para hindi lumabas sa PPCRV tapos yung boto ni Robredo inuuna na,” Marcos said.
[Translation: They are trying to make Robredo overtake me in the polls. They are holding on to my votes so these won’t be reflected in the PPCRV (unofficial count), and count Robredo's votes first.]

Marcos to Comelec: Stop counting votes

The Marcos camp now wants the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to stop the unofficial count, saying its results may differ from the official tally of the National Board of Canvassers.

Dela Cruz said they also requested Comelec to identify the areas where the votes came from, to prevent the possibility of double entries.

The Marcos camp added there could been dagdag-bawas (vote-padding and vote-shaving), citing data released by the media where vice presidential candidate Francis "Chiz" Escudero appeared to have some lost votes in the tally based on the PPCRV tabulations.

Marcos' lawyer Atty. Amor Amorado said the senator "will win not by a very convincing margin," but his camp is confident he will emerge victorious in a tight contest with Robredo.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Robredo denied cheating allegations and the LP's so-called "Plan B."

“Wala po itong katotohanan,” she said. [There is no truth to that.]