Article by:
Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The parties in the first petition seeking to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. have submitted their memoranda on Monday, the last day of the five-day period given by the Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Petitioners Fr. Christian Buenafe among others, and Marcos have filed their respective written messages as required by the poll body’s second division, “thus, the case is submitted for resolution.”
The petitioners said the poll body should not accept Marcos’ COC, ruling otherwise it is letting the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos to allegedly continuously dupe the people.
"Inevitably, the court found that respondent Marcos Jr.'s repeated failures to file a return was neither borne of sheer ignorance nor of innocent neglect and so concluded that being a public official, who knows the importance of taxes, his serial offending could only have been willful, intentional and deliberate," stated in the 69-page Memorandum and Formal Offer of Evidence.
The petitioners also asked the poll body to immediately rule on the matter to prevent any uncertainties and confusion.
"Petitioners submit, with due respect, that this Honorable Commission is fully aware of the urgency of the issues raised in these proceedings in light of the need for the Honorable Commission to determine the names of official candidates to be included in the official ballots to be used in the 2022 elections," they said.
The Comelec confirmed that the respondent also filed his memorandum but did not provide a copy of the document.
Last week, the Second Division composed of Commissioners Socorro Inting and Antonio Kho Jr. ordered both parties to submit their respective memoranda on the petition seeking to prevent Marcos from joining the May 2022 polls.
Buenafe and others filed a petition to cancel Marcos’ COC for containing multiple false material representations.
There are six other petitions filed against Marcos that are pending before the poll body’s First and Second Divisions.
The First Division is composed of Commissioners Rowena Guanzon, Marlon Casquejo and Aimee Ferolino. (PNA)
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