BILANG PILIPINO | Comelec first division junks disqualification petitions against Marcos

February 10, 2022 , 08:23 PM

By Clarist Zablan, News5 Digital

(February 10, 2022 – UPDATED at 9:08 p.m.) – A week after a commissioner, who voted to block a former senator from seeking public office, retired from the poll body, her two colleagues finally released their decision allowing the only son and namesake of the late dictator to run for president.

The Commission on Elections’ first division on Thursday cleared the way for Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr to seek the country’s highest political office, said spokesman James Jimenez.

“The consolidated petitions of Ilagan v. Marcos Jr., Akbayan v. Marcos Jr., and Mangelen v. Marcos Jr. have been dismissed for lack of merit by the COMELEC’s 1st Division,” Jimenez said in a Twitter post.

The consolidated petitions of Ilagan v. Marcos Jr., Akbayan v. Marcos Jr., and Mangelen v. Marcos Jr. have been dismissed for lack of merit, by the COMELEC’s 1st Division.

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) February 10, 2022

Jimenez was referring to the petitions filed by Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party, the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses (CARMMA) convenor Bonifacio Ilagan, and Abubakar Mangelen from a rival faction of Marcos’ party, to disqualify him after he was convicted by a local court for his failure to file his income tax returns from 1982 to 1985. They argued Marcos should not be allowed to run for public office because he committed a crime of moral turpitude.

Jimenez did not elaborate on the Comelec’s two commissioners’ decision to junk the petitions. Last month, the second division also threw away a petition to cancel Marcos’ certificate of candidacy.

The petitioners can appeal the division’s decision to the Comelec en banc. They could also elevate the case to the Supreme Court.

Marcos’ spokesman Vic Rodriguez lauded the Comelec divison’s decision, while accusing the petitioners as liars who were “deliberately misleading” the poll body by pushing for these cases.

“While we call on this seemingly misguided segment of our society to stop spreading lies against presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos, we nonetheless extend our hands of unity and continue with our call for them and every Filipino to join us in shaping a better and united future for our people,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

Akbayan nominee Perci Cendaña decried the decision as a “major setback for the country’s electoral democracy,” and a “missed opportunity” to protect the public from a candidate who has evaded taxes, but they will continue to pursue the case.

“Yet, the outcome doesn’t dishearten us,” Cendeña said in a statement. “This is merely a bend in the road, not the end of it. This is just the beginning of our struggle to protect our electoral democracy from fraud and impunity. We will appeal to the Comelec en banc and pursue this case to the very end.”

Another Carmma convenor, Roneo Clamor, said that they will make a statement once they receive the resolution.

Last month, Rowena Guanzon, who retired on February 2 from the poll body, stirred the hornet’s nest when she leaked her decision on the cases against Marcos in the first division. She claimed her colleague, Aimee Ferolino, was deliberately delaying the decision to nullify her vote.

Once retired, Guanzon’s vote would no longer matter. Ferolino denied she was delaying the decision.

The petitioners will appeal the first division’s decision to the Comelec en banc, now headed by Socorro Inting in acting capacity.

Comelec’s divisions have undergone reshuffling of its members after three officials retired last week, but the poll body is retaining the assignments of ongoing election cases to their respective divisions, Jimenez said in a separate statement.

Inting will also preside over the first division, with Ferolino serving as its member commissioner. The second division, which is handling one more disqualification case against Marcos filed by an Ilocano group, is now headed by Marlon Casquejo, with Rey Bulay serving as one of its members.

(MM)

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