‘No delays’: Bayan Muna urges SC to quickly act on petition vs. Marcos’ COC; vote canvassing (Sabong News)
Author
Seth Cabanban
Date
MAY 17 2022
The progressive party-list group Bayan Muna has pushed the Supreme Court (SC) to act swiftly on the petition seeking to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“There is a righteous expectation among our people for the Supreme Court to act with dispatch on the recently filed petition to cancel the candidacy of presumptive president Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.,” said Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate on Tuesday, May 17.
“There should be no delay. The speedy resolution and the gravity that this decision carry are matters that cannot be taken for granted. What is at stake here is not only the political future of a convicted person but the future and survival of our country as well,” Zarate continued.
On Monday, May 16, Fr. Christian Buenafe; Fides Lim; Ma. Edeliza Hernandez; Celia Lagman Sevilla; Roland Vibal; and Josephine Lascano filed a petition before the SC asking that the highest court in the land “CANCEL or DENY DUE COURSE his [Marcos] COC, declaring the same void ab initio. Consequently, respondent Marcos, Jr. must be deemed to have never been a candidate from the very beginning.”
Specifically, the petition was based on unresolved income tax return cases against the son of the late dictator and heir to the Marcos estate.
The petitioners also requested a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Marcos, the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Senate and the House of Representatives in an attempt to halt the canvassing of votes.
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The Congress–composed of the Senate and House of Representatives–handles the canvassing of votes and the proclamation of presidential and vice presidential candidates. Proclamation may happen as early as May 27.
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“It is expected that this petition will not follow the Comelec’s delayed resolution due to alleged ‘political interferences’ from quarters that would benefit from its delay. Such delay and interference may cast a serious doubt on the independence of institutions like the High Court, as it did with the Comelec,” concluded the Deputy Minority Leader.
