JE C.C.
Petitioners seeking to void presumptive 17th Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s certificate of candidacy (COC), brought their case to the Supreme Court.
Presumptive presidential Ferdinand Marcos Jr can’t rest his worries on having his COC voided just yet after the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) en banc dismissed all the disqualification cases against him.
Civic groups seeking to void his COC and thus invalidate his win at the national polls have elevated the case to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 17. Also, the petition reportedly sought to transfer Marcos Jr’s presumptive victory to second placer Vice President Leni Robredo.
LATEST: l Petition to cancel Bongbong Marcos’ COC reaches Supreme Court with civic leaders asking SC to stop Senate and House from canvassing votes for Marcos and from proclaiming him president. | via ABS-CBN News pic.twitter.com/z3xC1DkFav
— Mac_Emer (@Mac_nosremE) May 17, 2022
A copy of the petition for certiorari was released to the media, showing the 70-page pleading of the group led by former Supreme Court spokesman, Ted Te. “A candidate’s putative election victory cannot subsequently cure his ineligibility. Elections are more than just a numbers game such that an election victory cannot bypass election eligibility requirements.” the petition reads.
The petition also seeks a court order that stops Congress from canvassing votes for Bongbong Marcos, who is already positioned to take over outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte. Fr. Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines and Fides Lim of the political prisoners’ group–KAPATID are part of the call to declare Marcos’s candidacy as void ab initio or invalid from the beginning.
Should the Supreme Court rule in the petitioner’s favor–it will compel the national board of canvassers to treat Marcos’s over 31 million votes as stray and declare the one with the second-highest of votes instead as the new President.
Thus, an expectation for Congress to declare presumptive winner Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr at the end of the month.
However, the Supreme Court is on writing break until June, which means Bongbong Marcos would have already started his tenure as the 17th Philippine President by the time a ruling is released.
Even if Marcos has already sworn and assumed office, the Supreme Court would still have residual jurisdiction to rule on whether or not he committed material misrepresentation in his Certificate of Candidacy and order its cancellation, if it finds basis.
— Emilio (@13thFool) May 17, 2022
Be that as it may, petitioners still have the shot of eliminating Marcos Jr, even though he had already got sworn to office by the time the Supreme Court acted on the case.
“Even if Marcos has already sworn and assumed office, the Supreme Court would still have residual jurisdiction to rule on whether or not he committed material misrepresentation in his Certificate of Candidacy and order its cancellation if it finds basis,” Election lawyer, Emil Marañon III, explained.
Bongbong Marcos’s camp is yet to release an official statement in response to the plea, but BBM’s spokesperson, Vic Rodriguez issued a short statement to the appeal “Instead of pushing for your agenda of animosity, eh tulungan niyo na lang ho muna kami na pagtuunan at gamitin natin ang ating limitadong oras araw-araw.” he said.
The Marcoses are reportedly in Australia to take their much-needed break after the election.
