Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5) – Solicitor General Jose Calida has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the petition seeking to void the certificate of candidacy of president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In his submission filed to the high court, Calida said the petition presented a “misleading” narrative that Marcos was not qualified to run for the highest post in the country.
Calida said Marcos was qualified to run for president since he was never convicted of an offense that bars him to gun for public office.
Civic leaders, represented by former SC spokesperson Theodore Te, sought to declare void from the beginning Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (COC). The petitioners reiterated that Marcos was convicted by a Quezon City court for his multiple failures to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985 when he was governor and vice governor of Ilocos Norte.
All petitions were junked by the Comelec en banc.
“BBM (Marcos) is an eligible candidate and his COC is valid,” Calida said.
He also argued the petition filed by civic leaders led by Fr. Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines and Fides Lim of political prisoners’ group KAPATID is now moot as Congress already proclaimed Marcos as the winner of the 2022 presidential polls last May 25.
“Any objections as to the President’s qualifications now fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal,” the Solicitor General said.
Last June 1, Marcos himself asked the SC to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction and merit.
Calida also filed a separate submission that the SC has no power to restrain Congress from convening as the National Board of Canvassers in counting the votes for the positions of president and vice president
“Congress had already steered the course of the next six years when it upheld the people’s will and declared private respondent as the President-elect. The electoral mandate from the sovereign Filipino people is the ultimate political expression that cannot be assailed at all,” Calida stated.
Marcos, the son and namesake of the deposed dictator who ruled the country from 1965 to 1986, is the first presidential candidate to secure majority of the votes in the elections. His running mate Sara Duterte, daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo, also notched a landslide victory in the vice presidential race.
