Marcos asks Supreme Court to junk plea to void his candidacy

Metro Manila, Philippines, June 2 ------ President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss the petition to cancel his candidacy for the country's top post due to lack of jurisdiction and merit.

In a 45-page comment released to the media, Marcos argued that it is now the Presidential Electoral Tribunal which can look into his eligibility. The grounds raised by the petitioners were also immaterial, he added. “It is respectfully prayed of the Honorable Court to protect the free choice of the sovereign Filipino people,” read Marcos’ reply to the petition filed by the group represented by lawyer Theodore Te. “To allow the defeated and rejected candidate to take over is to disenfranchise the citizens representing 58.77% of the votes cast,” he added.

Te’s group first filed the petition before the Commission on Elections in November 2021. It argued that Marcos committed a crime of moral turpitude and perjury for making false representations in his certificate of candidacy (COC) regarding his eligibility to seek the presidency despite his tax conviction. It was, however, junked by the Comelec en banc, leaving the petitioners to run to the high court as their last legal option. In his comment, Marcos stressed he had “no intention to mislead, misinform, and deceive” the electorate.

Source: cnnphilippines.com