Senator Leila de Lima’s problems are far from over as the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) has formally taken cognizance of the amended electoral protest of former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino who ran for senator in the recent May, 2016, elections and ended in 13th place, behind De Lima in 12th. Reminiscent of the case between Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri in the May, 2010, elections, De Lima and Tolentino are now locked in a struggle for the Senate’s 12th-slot position as Tolentino, an independent senatorial candidate, urged the SET to nullify the lead of 1,332,972 million votes of De Lima and declare him as the rightful winning senatorial candidate. Present at the preliminary meeting on Thursday were Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon, Senators Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, Cynthia Villar, and Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV sitting as members of [...]
