An official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday shrugged off claims that they are delaying the resolution of the disqualification cases against presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., to allegedly favor one party.
“So, it is not correct to say that we are delaying in order to favor one party,” said First Division Presiding Commissioner Rowena Guanzon in a Facebook live video.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has stopped the Comelec from enforcing its December 13, 2021 resolution, which declared Norman Cordero Marquez a “nuisance candidate” and cancelled his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the senatorial elections.
In a resolution, the SC issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Comelec and directed it to comment on Marquez’s petition within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of notice.
The TRO was issued on Wednesday by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo “upon the written recommendation of the Member-in-Charge,” referring to the justice to whom the petition was assigned during raffle. A copy of Marquez’s petition was not available.
The Comelec also reset the start of the printing of the official ballots for the national and local elections to Thursday instead of yesterday due to various technical factors.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez made assurances the rescheduling won’t affect the preparations for this year’s polls.
Guanzon added that the cases filed against Marcos, which are pending before the First and Second Divisions, have different grounds.
“The case that was filed in the second division, the only issue is whether Marcos Jr. made a false statement or false material representation. The case we are handling, those are disqualification cases, the cancellation of the certificate of candidacy has different grounds, they have different disqualification grounds according to the law,” she added.
Guanzon said in case the respondent has been disqualified, he can be substituted.
“He can be substituted as long as the substitute belongs to the same party and has the same last name. They do not have to be related as long as they have the same last name and the same political party. The cancellation of COC, no substitution, in disqualification there is substitution before noon of May 9, 2022 provided that they belong to the same political party and surname,” she added.
Guanzon, however, said the rulings of the division are still appealable to the Commission en banc.
Earlier, Guanzon said the ruling on the disqualification cases filed by Bonifacio Ilagan and others, Akbayan party, and Abubakar Mangelen is set to be out by the middle of January.
However, Comelec Education and Information Department director Elaiza David on Monday said the draft of the decision is not ready yet as some staff members of one of the commissioners handling the case contracted coronavirus.
On Monday, the poll body’s Second Division denied the petition filed by Fr. Christian Buenafe, among others to cancel the COC of Marcos for lack of merit.
A check with the SC’s decisions online showed that Marquez had the same fate during the May 13, 2019 senatorial election when the Comelec also cancelled his COC.
Marquez assailed the ruling before the SC, which reversed the resolution of the Comelec. However, he did not win as senator in the 2019 election.
SC records in the 2019 case showed that the Comelec cancelled Marquez’s COC with a ruling that he was “virtually unknown to the entire country except maybe in the locality where he resides,” and that “though a real estate broker, he, absent clear proof of financial capability, will not be able to sustain the financial rigors of a nationwide campaign.”
Marquez informed the Comelec in 2019 that he is a resident of Mountain Province and a real estate broker. He also said he is the co-founder and sole administrator of the Baguio Animal Welfare, an animal advocacy group.
Because of this, he asserted that the Comelec should not have discounted “the potential for vastly untapped sector of animal lovers, raisers and handlers, and the existing local and foreign benefactors and donors who are willing and capable to (sic) subsidize the expenses of a social-media-enhanced national campaign.”
In a decision written by the now retired Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza, the SC granted Marquez’s petition as it reversed the Comelec’s ruling.
“We find that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in declaring Marquez a nuisance candidate on the ground of failure to prove financial capacity to sustain the financial rigors of waging a nationwide campaign,” the SC said.
“There is grave abuse of discretion: (1) when an act is done contrary to the Constitution, the law or jurisprudence; or (2) when it is executed whimsically, capriciously or arbitrarily out of malice, ill will or personal bias.56 Both elements appear to be present in this case,” the tribunal added.
“It bears reiterating that the Court acknowledges the Comelec’s legitimate objective in weeding out candidates who have not evinced a bona fide intention to run for office from the electoral process. Any measure designed to accomplish the said objective should, however, not be arbitrary and oppressive and should not contravene the Republican system ordained in our Constitution. Unfortunately, the Comelec’s preferred standard falls short of what is constitutionally permissible,” it stressed.