An official of the Commission on Elections on Monday warned anyone who causes disruptions or interrupts commissioners during the preliminary conference on the disqualification petition presidential contender Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on January 7 will be cited in contempt.
Commissioner Rowena Guanzon reminded all parties to observe proper decorum.
“Anyone who will disturb the proceedings on Jan 7. or interrupt me or a commissioner will be declared in contempt and sent to Manila jail for 48 hours,” Guanzon said in a tweet.
Guanzon said the conference will be livestreamed by the poll body’s Education and Information Department.
Under Rule 29 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure, direct contempt may be meted by the poll body on a person, who, among others, is “guilty of misbehavior in the presence of or so near the commission or any of its divisions as to obstruct or interrupt the proceedings before it or them, including disrespect toward the commission or division.”
“Follow rules, court protocol, health protocol. Do not attempt to speak while a commissioner or another lawyer is speaking. Never interrupt me,” Guanzon said.
The camp Marcos earlier said he owed no taxes to the government, showing a certification from the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Marcos’ spokesman Vic Rodriguez presented to the media a certificate from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, showing the 64-year-old presidential aspirant already paid his taxes for the years 1982 to 1985 with interest.
“Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. owes no taxes or has no tax deficiencies or penalties or interest. It has all been paid long ago. They paid December 27, 2001,” Rodriguez said.
Earlier this month, Theodore Te, a lawyer for petitioners from human rights groups, sought the cancellation of Marcos’ certificate of candidacy, presenting a document that showed Marcos “has not satisfied the judgment” or has not paid the penalty in his tax conviction case.
“This is to certify that there is no record on file of [the] compliance of payment or satisfaction for the decision of the Regional Trial Court dated July 27, 1995 or the Court of Appeals dated October 31, 1997,” read the certification from Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 105 that Te requested.
There is also no record of the “entry in the criminal docket of the RTC Decision dated July 27, 1995 as affirmed/modified of (sic) the Court of Appeal’s Decision.”
The QC RTC originally sentenced Marcos to 9 years in prison and ordered him to pay fines worth P72,000 for failing to file his income tax return and to pay taxes from 1982 to 1985, aside from his alleged tax deficiencies worth around P20,000.
The CA, in 1997, modified this, acquitting him of non-payment of taxes but affirming his conviction for non-filing of ITRs.
It removed the jail term but ordered him to pay P36,000 in fines plus surcharges.
It also ordered him to pay the Bureau of Internal Revenue the income tax deficiencies due with interest.
Rodriguez said the petitions were nothing but “nuisance” petitions before the Commission on Elections attempting to deny due course or cancel Marcos’s certificate of candidacy.
“We hope that with this certification, all issues arising from his alleged non-payment of taxes will be finally put to rest, and that we can now all celebrate Christmas with peace of mind,” Rodriguez said.
“Former Senator Marcos’s call for unity extends even to the groups who filed the petitions seeking his disqualification. The UniTeam sees it as the only way to move past this pandemic and uplift our people. We hope that they join us in this endeavor,” Rodriguez added.