Ferdinand Marcos Jr. —PHOTO FROM BONGBONG MARCOS FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — The camp of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will seek the dismissal of the petitions filed before the Supreme Court seeking his disqualification.
Marcos Jr. ‘s lawyer, Estelito Mendoza, said Friday their camp will seek the dismissal of the petitions once they file their comment before the Supreme Court.
“A comment is required to be filed on the petition and therefore in the comment, you may expect that we will be asking for the dismissal of the petition,” Mendoza said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“You must remember, this issue of disqualification was ruled upon by the Comelec Division and later on, it was ruled upon by the Comelec en banc so you already have two rulings affirming the qualification of BBM (Bongbong Marcos),” he added.
Currently, two petitions seeking to reverse Comelec’s dismissal of cases against Marcos Jr. are pending in the Supreme Court.
Both petitions are likewise asking the Supreme Court to stop the Senate and House of Representatives from canvassing the votes cast for Marcos Jr.
The Supreme Court has ordered Comelec, the two chambers of Congress, and the Marcos Jr. camp to comment on the first petition.
In his manifestation, Marcos Jr. cited Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution in saying that the Congress’ canvassing should push through.
It states that upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the President of the Senate shall, “not later than thirty days after the day of the election open all certificates in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session and the Congress, upon determination of the authenticity and due execution thereof in the manner provided by law, canvass the votes.”
“All of the above provisions, in language and intent, are mandatory and the Supreme Court is without jurisdiction to prevent their implementation,” the manifestation said.