Malacañang respects the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to junk the petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles made the statement after the Comelec made the said move on Monday morning.
In a short message to reporters, Nograles said the Palace respects Comelec's independence to make decisions on issues under its turf.
"Comelec is an independent constitutional body," he said Monday afternoon, January 17.
"We respect the independence of the Comelec," he added.
Meanwhile, the ruling party PDP-Laban and even President Duterte himself have announced the presidential candidate they will support in the upcoming May 2022 polls. The party has no presidential candidate following the withdrawal of both Senator Ronald deal Rosa and Duterte's long-time aide Senator Bong Go and after the Comelec rejected its petition to reopen the filing of COCs.
However, the President himself had said that he will not support Marcos's candidacy, citing his supposed weak leadership skills.
He likewise said that Marcos's link to Lakas-CMD was the reason why there will be no coalition between the said party and PDP-Laban despite his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's affiliation with Lakas-CMD.
“No, I cannot because nandiyan si Marcos eh. Hindi ako bilib sa kanya (Because Marcos is there. I am not a fan of his),” the President said in November last year.
“He’s really a weak leader. Kaya ako sabi ko — totoo ‘yan, hindi ako naninira ng tao, talagang weak ‘yan kasi spoiled child, only son (That’s why I said — that’s true, I’m not destroying his reputation. He’s really weak because he’s a spoiled child, an only son),” he added.