Vice President Noli de Castro yesterday urged his rival in the last elections, former Sen. Loren Legarda, to pursue her election protest to allow him to clear his name of allegations of electoral fraud.
De Castro said that Loren’s decision to withdraw her election protest in 21 municipalities in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Surigao del Sur reportedly due to financial constraints will be prejudicial to him since "he is now being deprived of his chance to clear his name" from allegations of electoral fraud in these provinces.
The lawyers of De Castro questioned Loren’s withdrawal of her electoral protest in the 21 provinces, and suspected that the decision to withdraw parts of the electoral protest was brought about by a realization that a recount of the votes in the 21 municipalities would yield unfavorable results.
De Castro expressed confidence that he would still emerge as the winner in the last vice presidential race when the election protest is resolved by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
Last Thursday, Loren’s lawyers withdrew her electoral protest on 21 municipalities, citing lack of funds to pursue a recount of votes in those areas. (David Cagahastian)
