FILE PHOTO: Former senator Bongbong Marcos. INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines — Through a political officer, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday apologized for his absence during the preliminary conference of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division on the disqualification cases lodged against him.
Marcos Jr., also known as Bongbong, skipped the proceedings telling the poll body that he is in isolation and has a fever and a congested throat as he was exposed to COVID-positive persons.
In a statement issued by the presidential aspirant’s camp, it said: “Through his political officer, former congressman Anton Lagdameo, Marcos apologized to the poll body, particularly to Presiding Judge Rowena Guanzon, for the inconvenience, if any, caused by his failure to attend the prelude to the disposition of the cases.”
It was, however, unclear how Marcos Jr.’s apology was conveyed to the Comelec. It was also not clear if Lagdameo was present during Friday’s proceedings to communicate his presidential bet’s apology to the poll body.
Lagdameo was also quoted in the same statement as explaining that, “Two personalities who’re with Marcos (Jr.) almost every day have been tested positive of the coronavirus — his chief of staff, lawyer Vic Rodriguez and his security escort, prompting the former senator to go in isolation.”
Further, the camp of Marcos Jr. said that apart from Rodriguez and the security escort, more than 30 workers and volunteers were also found positive for the coronavirus after undergoing antigen tests. Thus, the rest of their campaign team would undergo a mandatory RT-PCR swab test, they added.
The Comelec First Division’s hearing was initially delayed because it waited for the medical certificate of Marcos Jr.
Guanzon said Marcos Jr. should appear via teleconference if his counsel could not provide the medical certificate.
But Marcos Jr. was able to produce the medical certificate more than an hour later.
The Guanzon-presided hearing tackled the disqualification cases filed by martial law survivors led by Bonifacio Ilagan and Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party against Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The petition of Abubakar Mangelen, who claims to be the duly elected chairman of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), was not heard because he or his counsel did not appear during the hearing. This prompted the Comelec First Division to declare this case “submitted for resolution.”
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