The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division will issue the decision on the disqualification cases against presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in about two weeks.
Presiding Commissioner Rowena Guanzon posted on her Twitter account, @rowena_guanzon, on Saturday that after the raffle on Monday, a resolution of the First Division will be released around January 17.
After the preliminary conference on Friday, the First Division gave petitioners Bonifacio Ilagan and Akbayan party-list and Marcos 48 hours to submit their memoranda through e-mail.
The filing period will lapse at noon Sunday. The petitioners asked the poll body to disqualify the former senator from next year’s polls for his conviction for failure to file income tax returns from 1992 to 1995.
“We bring a strong case and the evidence will show that Marcos’ unfitness for public office will eventually come to light,” Akbayan said in a statement on Friday.
Marcos Jr. is currently in isolation after exposure to two close contacts who tested positive for Covid-19 — his chief of staff, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, and a security escort.
His camp apologized to Comelec for his absence in the hearing, saying that Marcos Jr. has a fever and had “difficulty in speaking due to a painfully congested throat.”
Guanzon earlier called out the Marcos camp for its failure to provide a medical certificate immediately to justify his failure to attend the hearing.
“He is not feeling well and he cannot go in today’s videoconference,” said one of Marcos’ legal counsel, Hanna Barcena. Guanzon then asked Barcena to have her client show up via Zoom given that no medical certificate was presented. A medical certificate from the physician of the former senator was eventually presented.
Guanzon, however, asked why Marcos could not appear on video, without having to speak, just so his presence can be noted by the court.
“Your Honor, because we are afraid that he might cause the spread of the virus,” Barcena said.
One of his closest friends, former congressman Anton Lagdameo, Marcos apologized to the Comelec, particularly to Guanzon, for the inconvenience, if any, caused by his failure to attend the prelude to the disposition of the cases.
“Two personalities who’re with Marcos almost every day have been tested positive of the coronavirus – his chief of staff, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, and his security escort, prompting the former senator to go in isolation,” Lagdameo said.
Akbayan, for its part, expressed confidence in the case against the former senator.
“Our petition is about the truth, and Mr. Marcos’ accountability for failing to follow the law. We bring a strong case and the evidence will show that Marcos’ unfitness for public office will eventually come to light. We thank Commissioner Guanzon and the rest of the Comelec for the way they handled today’s proceedings,” Akbayan’s Percival Cendaña said in a statement.
The petitioners argued that Marcos should be disqualified from this year’s elections because he was convicted of failing to file his income tax returns from 1982 to 1985.