BILANG PILIPINO | All petitioners appealed to Comelec to reverse scrapping of Marcos’ disqualification cases

February 15, 2022 , 06:38 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(February 15, 2022) – Three groups have appealed to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to reverse the decision of the poll body’s first division to dismiss the petitions to disqualify the only son and namesake of the late dictator from running for president, a former congresswoman said on Tuesday.

Etta Rosales of Akbayan Party-list group said her group has filed a motion for reconsideration to the Comelec en banc to block Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr from running for president.

Former Commission on Human Rights Chair Etta Rosales, and reps of AKBAYAN filed their Motion for Reconsideration after COMELEC 1st Division ruled to deny their petition belonging to the consolidated disqualification cases against Presidential Candidate Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. pic.twitter.com/zRI2KOBe6G

— Greg Gregorio (@GVGregorio_TV5) February 15, 2022

Another group of Martial Law survivors, led by the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law’s (Carmma) Bonifacio Ilagan also submitted a physical copy of an appeal after filing electronically a day before. Abubakar Mangelen, who leads an opposing faction of Marcos Jr’s political party, also filed a motion on Monday.

“We cannot allow Marcos Jr. to cheat his way to the presidency,” Akbayan’s first nominee Percival Cendaña said in a statement. “The fight is far from over. Bongbong cannot just sweep this under the rug. His tax evasion conviction and his continuing attempts to deceive the public are stains that won’t wash away.”

All of the three petitioners maintained that Marcos Jr should be perpetually disqualified from office over tax convictions under the internal revenue code, and his failure to file income tax returns (ITRs) from 1982 to 1985 is wilful and should constitute moral turpitude.

Akbayan also questioned the validity of the Comelec first division’s resolution to dismiss the three petitions, arguing that the poll body’s rules require a division to be composed of three commissioners. Only two commissioners voted in the decision after Rowena Guanzon retired early this month.

Akbayan and Ilagan’s camp disputed the resolution that Marcos Jr was not penalized with perpetual disqualification as it was not mentioned in the ruling convicting the former senator, noting that the punishment is considered an accessory penalty and is still enforced without having to be included in the ruling.

Ilagan’s group also refuted the argument the disqualification penalty only took effect in 1986, noting that Marcos Jr continued to commit a crime by continuing to neglect filing his ITRs for those four years, not even filing belatedly, until now.

The two groups further rebutted the argument that the former senator’s convictions were merely mala prohibitum or illegal without being immoral – therefore clearing him of moral turpitude – citing more recent jurisprudence challenging this, echoing Guanzon’s earlier statement.

Responding to the petitions, Marcos Jr’s spokesman Vic Rodriguez slammed the petitions, reiterating his accusations that they are lying.

“Matutuhan sana nilang magbigay respeto sa ating judicial at quasi-judicial bodies at tigilan na ang pang-aabuso sa ating mga korte at hukuman sa pamamagitan ng pagsasampa ng mga kasong pawang kasinungalingan lamang ang nilalaman,” he said.

The Comelec’s first division last week released its resolution penned by commissioner Aimee Ferolino junking three of Marcos Jr’s disqualification petitions more than a week after Rowena Guanzon, who used to preside the division, retired from the poll body.

Guanzon, who was in favor of disqualifying Marcos Jr over grounds that he had committed a crime of moral turpitude, claimed that Ferolino was being influenced by a senator into stalling the resolution of the cases to exclude her vote. Ferolino had denied this.

One more disqualification case against the former senator, filed by a group from the Ilocos Region named “Pudno Nga Ilocano,” remained ongoing with the second division.

(MM)

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