Here are the details of Bongbong Marcos Jr.'s pending Comelec disqualification cases
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. still needs to face four cases at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) challenging his candidacy for president for the 2022 national elections, even as the Comelec Second Division junked a petition seeking to cancel his certificate of candidacy (COC).
Here are the other details of the other cases that remain pending against the son and namesake of the late dictator.
Comelec First Division Consolidated Cases
The Comelec First Division led by Commissioner Rowena Guanzon had consolidated the three petitions for disqualification into one:
- SPA 21-194: Bonifacio Ilagan v. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr.
- SPA 21-232: Akbayan Citizens' Action Party, et al. v. Marcos Jr.
- SPA 21-233: Abubakar Mangelen v. Marcos Jr.
Ilagan, a Martial Law victim, filed alongside other victims a petition disqualifying Marcos Jr. from the 2022 polls, citing his tax conviction as basis.
For them, Marcos Jr.'s conviction for non-payment of taxes and non-filing of income tax returns meant perpetual disqualification from public office.
Akbayan also raised the same argument in its petition.
The Ilagan and Akbayan petitions have been earlier consolidated for having similar arguments, and were thereby expected to have a joint decision.
A third one in Mangelen, however, was added for also making the same case.
Mangelen also claimed that he's the standard-bearer and duly-elected chairman of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), which endorsed Marcos. Jr as the standard bearer for the 2022 polls.
He argued that the party's issuance of a certificate of nomination of acceptance (CONA) to Marcos Jr., as well as its endorsement of him as a standard bearer, was “unauthorized, defective, invalid and void," saying it was done so without his consent.
One who runs for public office files a CONA to prove that he's running under a political party. In filing his COC, Marcos Jr. said he's the standard-bearer and the known chairman of the PFP.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the first division would be "unlikely" to release its decision on the three disqualification cases today, Jan. 17, as Comelec Director 3 Elaiza Sabile-David earlier told TeleRadyo that staff members of one of the poll body's commissioners handling the petitions have tested positive for COVID-19.
Other Comelec Second Division Case
- SPA 21-235 Margarita Salandanan v. Marcos Jr.
Salandanan, a Martial Law victim from La Union, the bailiwick of the Marcoses, have filed alongside other victims a petition under the Pudno Nga Ilokano (Ang Totoong Ilokano) group.
The group is represented by Christian Monsod, a framer of the 1987 Constitution who's also a former Comelec chairman.
Like the previous disqualification cases, the petitioners cited Marcos Jr.'s tax conviction.
But the Monsod-led group raised a different argument, saying Marcos Jr. must be disqualified because he's not qualified as a voter, as he already lost his right to suffrage due to his tax conviction.
In the 1987 Constitution, being a registered voter is among the qualifications needed for an aspiring presidential candidate.
Denied petitions
Two petitions have been denied earlier:
- SPA 21-180 Tiburcio "TVM" Villamor Marcos v. Marcos Jr.
- SPA 21-003 Danilo Lihaylihay v. Marcos Jr.
The petition of Tiburcio sought to cancel Marcos Jr.'s COC by claiming that the real Marcos Jr. already died, and that the one who filed his candidacy is supposedly an impostor.
The claim sprawled from a decades-old urban legend alleging that Marcos Jr. had already died after getting stabbed in a melee while studying overseas.
The Marcoses, then, supposedly found a look-alike of Bongbong to live as the new Marcos Jr. The presidential aspirant has already denied this.
The Comelec did not provide a copy of the resolution, but spokesman James Jimenez told reporters that it has already been dismissed before the New Year.
The poll body in December also dismissed Lihaylihay's petition seeking to declare Marcos Jr. as a nuisance candidate.
Citing the second division's ruling, Jimenez said Marcos Jr.'s candidacy did not fall under any of the three broad categories of nuisance candidates.
Under Comelec rules, one may be declared a nuisance candidate if he filed a candidacy to: make mockery of the elections; cause confusion among voters like having similarity of names; and demonstrate the lack of a bona fide intention to run for office.