In the report of ABS-CBN News Sunday, Atty. Romulo Macalintal presented an excellent explanation about the allegation from the camp of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos that the 3.2 million undervotes or null votes was a sign of electoral fraud. Atty. Macalintal who is the lead counsel of presumptive Vice President Leni Robredo explained the matter in the following way.
First, he clarified that the 3.2 Million undervotes did not come from the vice presidential race alone. The number of null votes counted included those when voters abstain from choosing candidates to other positions aside from vice president like for president, for senators and for local positions. Macalintal’s explanation went this way:“Halimbawa, sa senador, ‘di ba ang ibinoboto nating senator, 12? Kung lima ang iyong ibinoto, mayroong seven na undervotes o null votes. Kung bumoboto ng anim na konsehal, dalawa lang na konsehal ang iyong ibinoto, mayroon apat na konsehal na undervotes.”
And so, the brilliant election lawyer made it clear that the undervotes cannot be used as a basis for an election protest. He said: “Hindi iyan, wika nga, tanda ng pandaraya. At ang null votes, hindi iyan basehan ng isang election protest. Sapagkat ang nulll vote ay isang abstention. Ibig sabihin nag-abstain ang isang botante sa pagboto for a particular position.” He highlighted the fact that: “Sa ilalim ng ating batas, iyan ay kinikilala na bahagi ng karapatan ng isang botante…. Hindi iyan palatandaan ng isang pandaraya.”
Source: ABS-CBN News
No comments:
Post a Comment