Vice President Leni Robredo and former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos. Composite

MANILA - Sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Vice-President Leni Robredo to pay within five days an P8-million cash deposit as initial installment for her counter-protest to former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' challenge to her May 2016 electoral victory.

This as the PET denied Robredo’s plea for reconsideration of the tribunal’s March 21 resolution, which had directed both parties to comply with the ordered payments in two tranches: the first tranche on April 17, and the second on July 14.

Marcos was earlier directed to pay P33 million for the first installment and P30 million for the second installment to fund his protest. Robredo was meanwhile required to pay P8 million for the first installment, and P7.44 million for the second installment.

The payments will be used to retrieve contested poll materials, including election documents and ballot boxes from precincts involved in the protests of both camps: 39,221 clustered precincts composed of a total of 132,446 precincts for Marcos’ protest, and 8,042 clustered precincts composed of 31,278 precincts for Robredo’s protest.

Marcos personally made the payment for the first tranche on April 17.

Robredo, however, refused to make the cash deposit for the first tranche, and instead filed her motion for reconsideration.

The Vice President had argued that it was “premature” for her to pay the two installments as this “is not yet necessary pending determination of the merits of [Marcos’] election protest.”

She also cited the pendency of her motion for reconsideration, which sought a reversal of the PET’s ruling finding Marcos’ protest sufficient in form and substance.

This led Marcos to move for the dismissal of Robredo’s counter-protest, accusing the latter of “dilatory” tactics, and citing a violation of Rule 34 of the 2010 Rules of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

The cited rule states that “[i]f a party fails to make the cash deposits or additional deposits herein required within the prescribed time limit, the tribunal may dismiss the protest or counter-protest, or take such action as it may deem equitable under the circumstances.”

Marcos also cited previous cases where the high court dismissed electoral protests for a party's "failure to make the required cash deposit within the time prescribed.”

The PET said it was deferring action on Marcos’ motion “until [Robredo] complies with the directive to pay the deposit.”

The margin of votes between Robredo and Marcos in the Vice-Presidential race was merely 263,473 votes.