Ex-gov’t officials slam Marcos for ‘dangerously irresponsible’ claims

MANILA, Philippines – A group of former government officials slammed the camp of Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr for failing to provide evidence of his cheating allegations in the last elections.

Members of Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO) described the camp’s accusation as “dangerously irresponsible” since it “presumes a conspiracy among the institutions managing and monitoring the elections to manipulate the process and casts doubt about its results.”

“It opens the door for losing candidates to protest closely-contested elections,” wrote the letter signed by 17 former top government officials.

Among those who signed the letter were former Cabinet secretaries Jesus Estanislao (Department of Finance); Fulgencio Factoran Jr and Victor Ramos (Department of Environment and Natural Resources); Lina Laigo (Department of Social Welfare and Development); Alberto Lim and Narzalina Lim (Department of Tourism).

They stressed that the rivals of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte had already conceded to him, paving the way for a smooth transition of power.

The lack of “positive proof” on the part of the senator, who ranks second in the hotly contested vice presidential race, confirms his “priority on personal political ambitions over the nation’s need for a peaceful transfer of power,” said the group.

FSGO is urging on the Comelec, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) to work together to prove that the breach in the protocol and procedures did not affect the integrity of the election results.

It also called on members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who will sit in the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) to administer a “quick and accurate” count of the votes. Both houses will start the official canvassing on May 25.

Marcos’ camp is challenging the unofficial election results where Liberal Party bet Leni Robredo is leading the race by more than 200,000 votes.

The senator was initially leading the vice presidential race when votes started to come in at 5 pm on May 9, election day. But by 11 pm, Marcos’ lead over Robredo began to close.

Marcos’ claim that a change in the hash code used in the transparency server manipulated the results has been debunked by the Commission on Elections and independent experts. – Rappler.com