VP poll protest: SC junks Marcos, Calida bids to inhibit Leonen

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), denied the motions for inhibition filed against Associate Justice Marvic Leonen in the ongoing vice presidential poll protest of former Senator Bongbong Marcos.

The motions filed by Marcos, who was contesting the 2016 election victory of Vice President Leni Robredo, and Solicitor General Jose Calida were “unanimously” denied by the high court, according to a media briefer of the SC Public Information Office on Tuesday.

The SC likewise asked Calida, as well as The Manila Times reporter Jomar Canlas, why they should not be cited in contempt.

The motions were both filed on Nov. 9 but Marcos denied having knowledge of Calida’s move.

Leonen is the justice-in-charge of Marcos’ election protest. He replaced Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa as the ponente of the case in October 2019.

In seeking Leonen’s inhibition, Marcos cited the associate justice’s alleged biased against the Marcoses. [ac]