THE Supreme Court decision junking the petitions seeking to disqualify President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from assuming his post was issued at the right time, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Macalintal noted that the unanimous decision was made two days before Marcos Jr. takes his oath as the 17thPresident of the country and on the same day that Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo accepted the invitation for him to administer his oath of office today (June 30).
Macalintal said CJ Gesmundo might not have accepted the invitation if the petitions filed by several human rights victims during the martial law years were still pending.
“For sure, Gesmundo will not be very comfortable administering the oath of Marcos if such disqualification cases are still pending before the Gesmundo Court. On ground of delicadeza, he may not even accept the invitation to administer Marcos’ oath if such cases are still pending before his court,” Macalintal said.
“Thus, the dismissal of said cases paved the way for the Chief Justice to administer Marcos’ oath of office without any reservations or feeling uncomfortable, and without any legal impediment,’ he added.
Macalintal also shared the position of Marcos’ camp that the issues raised in the petitions should have been elevated before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) and not before the SC.
He said the PET has the sole jurisdiction over election protests involving the elected president and vice-president.
In a vote of 13-0, the Court ruled on Tuesday that Marcos Jr. “is qualified to run for and be elected to public office,” contrary to the claim of the petitioners.
The petitioners sought to disqualify Marcos Jr., the son of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos, due to his conviction in July 1995 for failure to file income tax returns and pay income taxes from 1982 to 1985.
They argued that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) committed grave abuse of discretion when it issued resolutions dated January 17, 2022 and May 10, 2022 which dismissed for lack of merit the petitions they filed seeking the denial or cancellation of Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (COC) for the position of President.
The petitioners insisted that the Comelec erred in giving weight to Marcos’ material representation that he is eligible for the position of President and that he has not been convicted of a crime punishable with the penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office,
Marcos through his lawyer Estelito Mendoza sought the dismissal of the petitions before the SC on the ground of lack of jurisdiction to hear the case.
Marcos argued it is only the PET which may inquire into his eligibility.
Marcos explained that since the proclamation of the winning presidential and vice candidates is over, only the SC, sitting as the PET, is the sole judge of all contests relating to the qualifications of a president.
He said the petition must also be dismissed for lack of merit since he did not commit any material misrepresentation in his COC, contrary to the claim of the petitioners, that would warrant his disqualification from seeking the presidency.
Marcos also insisted that he is not disqualified to run for the presidency and that he has no intention to mislead, misinform and deceive the electorate.
In ruling in favor of Marcos, the SC declared: “Likewise, his COC, being valid and in accord with the pertinent law, was rightfully upheld by the Comelec.”