Comelec junks petition to cancel Marcos’ candidacy, more disqualification cases ongoing
By Christel Castro
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division junked the petition filed by civic leaders to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last January 17, 2022. Meanwhile, there are still three pending disqualification petitions against Marcos, Christian Monsod’s petition under the 2nd division, and the consolidated petition of Akbayan/Ilagan/Mangelen in the 1st division.
Comelec’s decision
The Comelec Second Division released a 32-page decision headed by Commissioner Socorro Inting, with Commissioners Antonio Kho Jr. and Rey Bulay. The decision dismissed the petition to cancel Marcos’ COC.
The petition was filed on November 2, 2021 and is represented by former Supreme Court spokesperson Ted Te. The petitioners include Father Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees, Fides Lim of prison group Kapatid, Ma Edeliza Hernandez of the Medical Action Group, Celia Lagman Sevilla of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, Roland Vibal of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights, and Josephine Lascano of the Balay Rehabilitation Center.
The petitioners filed a cancellation case under the grounds of material misrepresentation, or that Marcos falsely claimed that he has never been found liable of any offense that penalizes him of perpetual disqualification to hold public office. The petition’s main argument was based on a 1997 conviction of Marcos for his failure to pay income tax returns (ITRs) from 1982 to 1984 when he was a vice governor and then governor of Ilocos Norte.
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court originally convicted Marcos for failure to pay income taxes and file ITRs from 1982 to 1984, and failure to pay income tax in 1985. The trial court imposed a total of seven years in prison for the offenses, however, the Court of Appeals (CA) Special Third Division modified the ruling.
The CA’s ruling acquitted Marcos of all charges of failure to pay, but remained the charges for failure to file ITRs. The CA also removed the prison time for the conviction. Marcos was mandated to pay a P30,000 fine with surcharge.
The petitioners claim that Marcos is not eligible to be a presidential candidate because of his false claim about his previous conviction.
“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 [was] disqualified from doing so. Petitioners claim that Marcos is not eligible to run for any public office as he is, plainly, a convicted criminal,” the petitioners stated.
The petitioners also claim that the Marcos family accumulated P23.293 billion in estate tax. Adding the interests, surcharges, and other penalties, the estate tax would amount to P203.8 billion.
Meanwhile, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez stated that failure to file an income tax return is not a crime involving moral turpitude.
“The Second Division ruled that the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1994 did not apply to the case, because that would have resulted in a retroactive application since an NIRC of 1994 took effect only in 1986, whereas the cases involved in this case, were ’82, ’83, and ’84,” said Jimenez.
The 2nd Division’s ruling agreed with the arguments of Marcos’ lawyers that the CA’s decision in 1997 did not categorically hold that respondent is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude nor did it positively pronounce that respondent is meted with the penalty of imprisonment of more than 18 months.
The division further argued that there is no definitive declaration in the CA’s decision that perpetually disqualifies Marcos from holding public office.
The petitioners disagree with Comelec’s ruling that the material representations were not false. They will seek reconsideration to the Commission En Banc within a five-day period, the last day being on Monday, January 24, 2022.
Cancellation vs. Disqualification
The recent ruling of the Comelec 2nd Division was for a petition to cancel the COC of Marcos. According to Comelec’s rule 23, the exclusive ground for a petition to cancel COC is any material representation contained therein as required by law is false.
Cancellation petitions deny a candidate’s COC on the ground of false material representation in the document. Once a cancellation petition is approved, the candidate cannot be substituted by another person.
Jimenez stated that if the rulings have not been finalized by the Commission En Banc by the time of the printing of the ballots, Marcos’ name will remain on the ballot. If the commission ruled that Marcos’ COC is canceled, then any votes garnered under his name on the ballot will be considered stray votes.
Meanwhile, the remaining petitions are disqualification cases against Marcos. According to Comelec’s rule 25, supposed ineligibility to run based on a prior conviction is a ground for disqualification. Disqualification cases also argue that a candidate cannot be proclaimed a winner due to an election offense or conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.
As stipulated under the Comelec Resolution №10717, if Marcos was disqualified before the May 9 elections, a substitute may file a COC up to the mid-day of the election day, provided that the substitute and the substituted candidate have the same surnames. This means that Marcos’ sister, Senator Imee Marcos, or his wife, Liza Araneta Marcos, can take his place as a substitute.
In an event where Marcos is proclaimed the winner of the presidential elections but later on ruled to be disqualified after the proclamation, Jimenez and other election lawyers stated the likely scenario is that the person who wins the vice presidency will succeed him and not the second placer in the presidential race.
