MANILA- The Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has authorized the hiring of 60 contractual personnel as part of initial preparations for the vote recount in connection with the poll protest of former Sen. Bongbong Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo.

In a 3-page resolution, the PET approved the recommendation of its acting administrative officer, lawyer Eden Candelaria, for the hiring of the following:

-1 consultant for finance;
-1 secretary;
-1 head secretary;
-2 assistant secretaries;
-1 head custodian;
-16 ballot box handlers and servers;
-1 ballot box custodian handler;
-2 assistant ballot box custodian handlers;
-1 keys/locks custodian/handler;
-2 assistant keys/locks custodians/handlers;
-1 books custodian/handler;
-2 assistant books custodians/handlers;
-2 dry sealers/handlers;
-3 copy machine operators/stamp pads;
-2 utility workers/messengers;
-4 drivers/handlers;
-1 chief tabulator;
-2 assistant tabulators;
-6 data encoders;
-9 watchmen.

Each post already had corresponding names duly approved by the PET.

The salaries of the said personnel range from P14,586 to P30,000 (consultant for finance), effective “upon their assumption to duty or upon commencement of the activities of the PET in connection with the instant electoral protest.”

MARCOS OPPOSES ROBREDO'S BID FOR COPIES OF PILOT PROVINCES' BALLOT IMAGES

Marcos has meantime opposed Robredo’s plea for copies of the ballot images from his three protest pilot provinces, insisting he, not Robredo, paid for the P2.97-million cost of the decryption and printing of the images.

"Since Robredo did not contribute any share in the expenses and supplies for this undertaking, she should not be allowed by this Honorable Tribunal to obtain the soft (and even printed) copies of the decrypted images of the ballots, election returns, audit logs and other relevant documents for all the protested clustered precincts of the pilot provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental used during the May 9, 2016 national and local elections," Marcos’ comment on Robredo's motion read.

Robredo had sought for copies of the images, arguing “it would be for the benefit of the parties… to protect their rights and interests in this election protest.”

Marcos lost to Robredo in the 2016 race for the vice presidency by 263,473 votes.

• Comelec starts decryption of ballot images in VP poll protest