The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Monday dismissed the petition seeking to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of former senator and presidential aspirant Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.
"In essence, the Comelec agreed with the petitioners that the representations made in Item 11 and Box 22 of the COC of Marcos Jr. are material but disagreed that they were false; in the process, the Second Division ruled that there was no ground to cancel Marcos Jr.’s COC on the ground of material representation," said Atty. Theodore Te, who serves as a lawyer for petitioners composed mostly of the victims during the Martial Law era, in a tweet.
Te added that the petitioners will seek reconsideration of the decision.
"Counsels are not free to discuss the grounds to be included in the Motion for Reconsideration until the same is filed. Additional updates will be provided once the same is filed," he continued.
The ruling, which was released by the 2nd Division on Monday, can still be convened by the Comelec en banc, after which moves can be made to go to the Supreme Court.
The petitioners claimed that Marcos Jr. is not eligible to run for any public office since the Quezon City Regional Trial Court convicted him in 1995 for his failure to file income tax returns.
“Specifically, Marcos falsified his Certificate of Candidacy when he claimed that he was eligible to be a candidate for president of the Philippines in the 2022 national elections when in fact he is disqualified from doing so,” the petitioners stated.
This petition to cancel Marcos’ COC is one among the three pending petitions against him. Two others for disqualification remain.
In a statement, Marcos spokesperson Vic Rodriguez said the petitions were "way too frivolous and unmeritorious to override the basic precepts of the Constitution."
“The petitioners’ mere creativity for writing and wanting what is not written in the law as a basis to cancel the certificate of candidacy of Presidential Aspirant Bongbong Marcos is way too frivolous and unmeritorious to override the basic precepts of the Constitution,” Rodriguez said.
“After the petitioners’ right to have their day in court where their case was fully heard and ventilated, the Comelec has unanimously spoken — the petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy of Bongbong Marcos was denied,” he added.
