Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party and several other private citizens on Thursday filed the fifth petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to remove Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. from the 2022 presidential race.
In a 13-page petition, Akbayan cited Marcos’s conviction in 1995 for violating the National Internal Revenue Code as grounds on why the son of the late strongman former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. should be disqualified from participating in the polls next year.
Aside from Akbayan, the other signatories of the said petition are Doris S. Nuval, Joanna Bernice S. Coronacion, Jo Enrica Enriquez Rosales, Raymond John S. Naguit, and Loretta Ann P. Rosales.
The petitioners cited Marcos’s conviction from failing to file income taxes, which, they said, is also a crime involving moral turpitude, made him perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
They also pointed out the court sentenced Marcos to a penalty of imprisonment of more than 18 months, which is another reason for Comelec to disqualify a candidate.
“The petitioners respectfully pray that Respondent Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. be disqualified as a candidate for President of the Republic of the Philippines,” petition read.
Marcos is also facing a similar disqualification case file by Bonifacio Ilagan’s group.
He also has two separate petitions seeking for the cancellation of his certificate of candidacy, which were filed by Christian Buenafe and others and Tiburcio Marcos.
Danilo Lihaylihay also filed a petition for Comelec to declare Marcos as a “nuisance candidate.”
Currently, all of the said cases are still pending in the poll body.
Image courtesy of JOEY RAZON PNA
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