Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (File photo)
MANILA – A second petition for disqualification has been filed against the presidential bid of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in the May 2022 polls has been filed at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday.
In a 13-page petition for disqualification, the petitioners, led by the Akbayan Citizens Action Party (Akbayan), sought to disqualify the former lawmaker from running for president after being convicted of tax evasion in 1995.
They added that such conviction prohibits him from holding public office.
"Petitioners respectfully submit that the Respondent should be disqualified as a candidate for President of the Republic of the Philippines on the grounds, each of which is sufficient to disqualify the Respondent, namely the Respondent is perpetually disqualified from holding public office; the Respondent was convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude, and the Respondent was sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment of more than 18 months," the petitioners said.
"As such, his conviction for the said crimes carried with it the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding any public office, voting, and participating in any election," they added.
The group said Marcos had committed a crime involving moral turpitude when he opted to skip paying taxes.
"Undoubtedly, the repeated failure of the Respondent, for more than a decade, to file his income tax returns as a public officer was a series of continuing acts done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty, or good morals that manifest baseness, vileness, or depravity. These acts constituted crimes involving moral turpitude," said the petitioners.
They also cited a 2012 Supreme Court decision on the Jalosjos, Jr. v. Comelec case, saying that the high tribunal held that the election body bears the constitutional duty to, motu proprio, prevent candidates who are perpetually disqualified, like Marcos Jr., from running repeatedly for public office.
"To allow the Comelec to wait for a person to file a petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy of one suffering from perpetual special disqualification will result in the anomaly that these cases so grotesquely exemplify. The Comelec will be grossly remiss in its constitutional duty to 'enforce and administer all laws' relating to the conduct of elections if it does not motu proprio bar from running for public office those suffering from perpetual special disqualification by virtue of a final judgment," the petition quoted from the decision.
The petition was signed by Akbayan's First Nominee Percival Cendaña, former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Etta Rosales, Akbayan Youth Chairperson Dr. RJ Naguit, women leader Jean Enriquez of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW-Asia Pacific), and labor leader Nice Coronacion of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO).
Other petitions filed against Marcos are for declaration as a nuisance candidate filed by Danilo Lihaylihay, for cancellation of certificate of candidacy by Fr. Christian Buenafe and others, and by Tiburcio Marcos.
The first disqualification petition against Marcos was filed by Bonifacio Ilagan and others.
Meanwhile, a person who claimed to be the duly-elected chairperson of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) has filed a petition before the Comelec to nullify the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) of Marcos and disqualify him.
In a four-page petition, Abubakar Mangelen said the CONA issued to the presidential aspirant is void.
“The CONA issued to respondent is unauthorized, defective, invalid and void. Moreso, PFP's supposed indorsement of him as the Party's presidential standard bearer is inoperative, void and non-existent,” he said.
The petitioner added that “the matter of indorsement by some officers of PFP came as a big shock and surprise to petitioner and a substantial number of officers and members of PFP.”
“As a matter of fact, the party officers from Lanao del Norte and other areas who were not consulted nor notified like petitioner of any meeting or convention complained of their replacement as such officers without due process of law and in contravention of the pertinent provisions of PFP's Constitution and By-laws,” he said.
As for the disqualification, Mangelen added that Marcos is not eligible to run as he was convicted of a crime.
“By way of and as 2nd cause of action, petitioner, in his capacity as Chairman of PFP and as taxpayer- voter, seeks the disqualification of respondent on ground of ineligibility arising from a previous conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, in line with and pursuant to Sec. 12 of the Omnibus Election Code,” he said.
He cited the ruling of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City for violating Sections 45 and 50 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1977, as amended on July 27, 1995.
The court decision rendered two six-month and two three-year sentences against him for failure to file and pay income-tax returns for the years 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. The same decision also ordered Marcos to pay the corresponding taxes, penalties, interests, and surcharges due to the Bureau of Internal Revenue;
On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed with modification the RTC decision where it deleted the penalty of imprisonment.
“It is the well-considered view of petitioner that the crime for which respondent was convicted involves moral turpitude that carries with it the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification to hold public office. As defined: Moral turpitude has been defined as everything which is done contrary to justice, modesty, or good morals; an act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social duties which a man owes his fellowmen, or to society in general,” the petitioner added.
In a statement, Marcos' spokesperson lawyer Vic Rodriguez said they respect the right of these groups to "take whatever legal action they think would best serve their own agenda".
"We also expect them to respect our right to be heard," he added.
Rodriguez said the petitions filed against the former senator are part of efforts to put him in a bad light.
Also on Thursday, the Comelec Second Division has ordered the petitioners and respondents in the first petition to cancel the COC of Marcos to comment on the motion for intervention filed by Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., et al and the PFP last month.
In an order signed by presiding Commissioner Socorro Inting, the division has given parties five days to submit their answers.
“In view of the foregoing, the Commission (Second Division) hereby directs Petitioners Fr. Christian Buenafe et al. and Respondent Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. to file their respective Comment/s to the Answers-in-Intervention dated 22 and 24 November 2021, via e-mail to the official e-mail address of the Clerk of the Commission ([email protected]), within a non-extendible period of five (5) calendar days from the receipt of this Order,” said the order issued on Thursday.
On November 22, an Answer-in-Intervention with Motion to Intervene and Admit Attached Answer-in-Intervention was filed by Tamayo, Rodriguez, and Thompson Lantion urged the poll body to dismiss the petition dated Nov. 2, 2021 for lack of merit.
On November 24, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) also filed an Answer-in-Intervention with Motion for Leave to Intervene with Motion to Admit Attached Answer-in-Intervention, likewise asked the division to dismiss all the petitions for lack of merit. (PNA)
