BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Loren Legarda will contest the ruling of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal dismissing her vice presidential electoral protest against Noli de Castro in 2004.

"It is simply unacceptable that the alleged lack of evidence was one of the reasons cited by the PET in denying my petition," Legarda said.

The Supreme Court sits as the PET.

Legarda said she can accept the dismissal of her case because she ran for senator last year but she said she cannot imagine why the PET failed to recognize traces of fraud and irregularity from the evidence presented by her legal team.

"Only those wearing blinders can claim that I have not proven what the majority of Filipinos know by now, that the 2004 election was marred by fraud and that no legitimate mandate could emanate from that tainted exercise," she said.

Legarda’s lawyers will cite the concurring but separate opinion of Associate Justice Antonio Carpio stating: "I concur but on grounds of abandonment alone."

She said election returns retrieved from the House were proven to be fake when compared to the five other ER copies.

In the five other ERs, Legarda won in Lanao del Sur. But when ERs retrieved from Congress were canvassed, her victory was reversed through apparent "dagdag-bawas."

Legarda said she would have wanted to petition for a recount of the ballots from Cebu, Pampanga and Maguindanao but it would cost her P3.9 million.

Legarda said she had already spent P12 million to have the election documents from Lanao del Sur examined.