THE Supreme Court (SC) sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) has designated a revision team that will locate and examine the ballots being contested by losing vice presidential candidate former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
According to a news release distributed by Marcos' camp to the media on Wednesday, the PET, in a resolution dated August 8, has tasked a team to transport the ballot boxes that are subject to revision, from the cities and provinces to the SC.
Retrieval team leaders assigned by the PET are lawyers Mercedes and Linuel Alindogan from the Office of the Chief Attorney.
Designated as special disbursing officers are Joy Jemima DC Reyes and Jeffrey Raymond Atienza, while Joery Gayanan was named as the team's chief security officer.
The PET fixed the compensation of the above-named officials to P5,000 a month, the payment will start "upon the date of the resolution until termination of the retrieval of the ballot boxes," said the PET.
In the five-page resolution, the PET has authorized the SC clerk of court to screen applicants for the position of coordinators of the revision committees.
The committees will conduct the recount procedure on the contested ballots.
The PET has directed the acting Chief Administrative Officer of PET to post vacancies, entertain and screen applicants for the position of members of the revision committees and the staffing complement.
As for the members of the revision committees, the SC amended Rules 39 (b) of the 2010 PET rules by requiring the revision committees to be composed of a coordinator who shall be a lawyer, a recorder and a representative from the both Robredo and Marcos' camp.
It also amended rule 40 of the same rules by fixing the compensation of the members of the revision committees to P1,500 per clustered precincts.
The PET also fixed the compensation of the panel of commissioners assigned to the electoral protest.
It said that the compensation of the head of the panel Associate Justice Jose Vitug shall be P50,000 a month starting July 17 while its members lawyers Angelito Imperio and Irene Ragodon-Guevarra shall be P45,000.
The SC has yet to confirm said resolution released by Marcos camp.
Robredo won the neck and neck race against Marcos by only 263,473 votes. (SunStar Philippines)