Comelec yet to decide on petition to cancel Marcos' presidential bid
The decision on the petition to cancel the presidential bid of former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos is facing a delay as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that pending issues need to be resolved first.
The Comelec on Friday held a preliminary conference on the petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Marcos filed by Fr. Christian Buenafe et al. The poll body has yet to instruct the Marcos camp and the petitioners to submit their respective memoranda, said Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez.
“There are still pending incidents. Pending incidents refers to the motions for interventions as well as the motion for oral arguments. Sabi ng Comelec, since these things are still pending, we will wait until they are resolved before we give you the period for filing your memoranda,” said Jimenez in a press briefing.
“So waiting muna tayo (we will wait). Again, this is in contrast to what we expected in the beginning where we told you that after the preliminary conference, they would be given three days to submit their memoranda,” he added.
“Hindi po muna mangyayari iyon (It will not happen yet) because meron ngang (there are) pending motions/ pending incidents. Once that’s resolved, then we’ll talk about the setting for the period of filing their memoranda,” he furthered.
Jimenez said that the Comelec’s decision for this petition will not be available by next week.
“The decision really will not happen next week, for sure iyan (that’s for sure),” he said.
When asked if the Comelec will issue the resolution for this petition before the target release of the official list of candidates in December, Jimenez replied: "Posible pa din. cannot foreclose that possibility but again ‘di natin alam (It is still possible. Cannot foreclose that possibility but again, we don't know yet)."
In an earlier television interview, Jimenez said that they are not delaying the resolution of this petition against Marcos.
"We have to remember that there is due process involved, which means that just because one side said that something should happen does not necessarily mean it should happen right away. There will be due process involved, especially if you’re trying to knock someone out of the running. When you’re trying to knock someone out of the running they deserve the opportunity to defend themselves, defend their candidacy," he said.
“This is not about facilitating disqualification because you do not want the person. This is about finding out whether the person should be disqualified...The Comelec will only disqualify if there is a reason to disqualify this person. We have to determine kung may reason (if there is a reason),” he added.
The petition was filed to Comelec last Nov. 2. The petitioners claimed that the COC of Marcos contains "multiple false material representations."
Petitioners to seek ‘appropriate remedies’
The legal team of the petitioners headed by lawyer Theodore Te issued a statement also on Friday with regards to the preliminary conference.
They said that they were “surprised” with the move of the Comelec to defer the submission of memoranda for both parties.
“At the conclusion of the preliminary conference, petitioners sought to have both parties submit their respective memorandum by Monday, November 29, three days after the conference as indicated in the Comelec’s own Notice and Summons,” the petitioners’ legal team said.
“Surprisingly, the Comelec Division Clerk, citing ‘pending incidents,’ deferred the submission of memorandum unilaterally, i.e, without any motion from the parties and despite vehement objections by the petitioners. The deferment is indefinite as no period was given by the Comelec to decide,” they added.
The petitioners said they “take no exception to the indefinite deferral and the supposed reasons therefor and will avail of appropriate remedies to put on record their objections thereto.”