2022 Philippine Elections

LIST: Petitions seeking to block Bongbong Marcos’ 2022 presidential bid

Dwight de Leon

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

LIST: Petitions seeking to block Bongbong Marcos’ 2022 presidential bid

Alyssa Arizabal/Rappler

(6th UPDATE) Of the 8 petitions, 4 have been junked; 4 cases remain unresolved, but are all nearing resolution

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has acknowledged that the 2022 presidential bid of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is shaping up to be one of the most contested in Philippine history.

That’s because the late dictator’s son is facing multiple petitions asking the poll body to block his attempt to gun for Malacañang.

Here’s a running list of the petitions filed by multiple individuals and groups against Marcos Jr., in chronological order.

1. Lihaylihay vs Marcos (SPA 21-003)

Petition: Declare Marcos a nuisance candidate, arguing he has no genuine intention to run for office. It mentions the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth, and alleges that the former senator only aims to “lift the sequestration of all their global ill-gotten wealth” once he becomes president.

Petitioner: Danilo Lihaylihay, a presidential aspirant who, in the past, made unsuccessful attempts in courts to compel the government to pay him for his supposed efforts to recover the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth.

Status: Dismissed at the division level. Lihaylihay files appeal with the en banc.

Timeline: 
October 11 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
October 25 – Petition raffled to the 2nd Division.
November 18 – Preliminary conference conducted.
December 16 – Comelec dismisses petition.

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Another case vs Marcos wants him declared nuisance, cites ill-gotten wealth

Another case vs Marcos wants him declared nuisance, cites ill-gotten wealth
2. Buenafe et al vs Marcos (SPA 21-156)

Petition: Cancel Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (COC). Petitioners argue that he committed material misrepresentation in his candidacy papers when he claimed he was eligible to run for office despite his 1997 conviction for not filing income tax returns in the 1980s.

They insist such is a crime of moral turpitude, which carries a penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office under the Omnibus Election Code.

Petitioners: Father Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees and other civic leaders. They are counseled by former Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te.

Status: Dismissed at the division level

Timeline: 
November 2 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
November 8 – Petition raffled to the 2nd Division.
November 12 – Comelec issues summons to Marcos. 
November 18 – Comelec extends deadline for Marcos to reply to the summons. 
November 19 – Marcos files reply to the Buenafe petition.
November 22 – Petitioners file motion for reconsideration on the Comelec’s move to extend deadline for Marcos to reply to the summons.
November 22 and 24 – Marcos’ Partido Federal files with the Comelec answers-in-intervention to the Buenafe petition in defense of its candidate.
November 23 – Comelec upholds decision to grant Marcos a five-day extension to reply to the Buenafe petition.
November 26 – After preliminary conference, Comelec defers issuance of three-day deadline for both parties to submit memoranda.
December 2 – Comelec’s 2nd Division orders Marcos and petitioners to respond to answers-in-intervention filed by PFP.
December 13 – Comelec rejects all intervention in the Buenafe petition.
December 13 – Comelec denies petitioners’ request to order release of Marcos’ records with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.  It also rules against the Marcos camp’s request for face-to-face oral arguments. Both camps are given five days by the Comelec to submit memoranda.
December 20 – Both camps submit memoranda or their final position papers. 
January 17 – Comelec’s 2nd Division dismisses petition, and says Marcos “cannot be said to have deliberately attempted to mislead, misinform, or hide a fact which would otherwise render him ineligible.”

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Civic leaders seek to block Bongbong Marcos’ candidacy for president

Civic leaders seek to block Bongbong Marcos’ candidacy for president
3. Tiburcio Marcos vs Marcos (SPA 21-180)

Petition: Cancel Marcos’ COC, allegedly because he is an impostor, and the real Bongbong “has been deceased since 1975.” It’s an urban legend that the former senator has dismissed in a vlog. 

Petitioner: Tiburcio Marcos, a presidential aspirant who claims to be the “only legitimate son” of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Status: Dismissed.

Timeline:
November 3 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
November 15 – Petition raffled to the 2nd Division.
January 4 – Comelec says the petition has been junked by the 2nd Division.

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Stuff made for fact checks: Petition accuses Bongbong Marcos of faking… himself

Stuff made for fact checks: Petition accuses Bongbong Marcos of faking… himself
4. Bautista et al vs Marcos (SPA 21-156)

Petition: Allow a new group of petitioners to join the Buenafe petition. The petition banks on a provision of the tax code, which says that an offending public official shall be perpetually disqualified from public office. Marcos was vice governor and governor of Ilocos Norte from 1982 to 1985, when he failed to file his ITRs.

Petitioners: Rommel Bautista and nine other professionals, who are represented by 1Sambayan convenor Howard Calleja.

Status: Dismissed.

Timeline:
November 8 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
December 13 – Comelec rejects all intervention in the Buenafe petition, including the motion filed by the Bautista group.

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New petition vs Bongbong Marcos banks on tax code’s automatic disqualification

New petition vs Bongbong Marcos banks on tax code’s automatic disqualification
5. Ilagan et al vs Marcos (SPA 21-212)

Petition: The first disqualification petition against Marcos. This one, unlike earlier petitions, directly invokes Marcos’ 1997 tax conviction as a ground for his disqualification under the Omnibus Election Code. 

That’s because the petitions to cancel Marcos’ COC earlier in November had to frame their arguments around misrepresentation, the exclusive ground for canceling candidacy papers.

Petitioners: Bonifacio Ilagan and other survivors of Marcos Sr.’s martial law, represented also by Calleja.

Status: Resolution will be out around January 17, said Comelec.

Timeline: 
November 17 – Petition filed with the Comelec; petitioners withdrew it as they invoked two grounds, running the risk of summary dismissal.
November 18 – Petition refiled with the Comelec.
November 29 – Petition raffled to the Comelec’s 1st Division.
December 21 – Comelec issues summons to Marcos.
December 27 – Marcos camp submits reply to Comelec.
January 7 – Petition consolidated with Akbayan et al vs Marcos and Mangelen vs Marcos after the preliminary conference
January 9 – Memoranda submitted

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Martial law victims file disqualification case vs Bongbong Marcos

Martial law victims file disqualification case vs Bongbong Marcos
6. Akbayan et al vs Marcos (SPA 21-232)

Petition: Disqualify Marcos over his tax conviction in the 1990s. Petitioners assert that, because he was found guilty of failing to file his ITRs for the taxable year 1985 before the April 1986 deadline, he violated the amendment of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1977, which took effect in 1986. The amendment carries a penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office for violators.

Petitioners: Party-list group Akbayan and other civic leaders 

Status: Resolution will be out around January 17, said Comelec.

Timeline:
December 2 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
December 6 – Petition raffled to the 1st Division.
December 21 – Comelec issues summons to Marcos.
January 7 – Petition consolidated with Ilagan et al vs Marcos and Mangelen vs Marcos after the preliminary conference
January 9 – Memoranda submitted

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Akbayan, civic leaders ask Comelec to disqualify Marcos from 2022 race

Akbayan, civic leaders ask Comelec to disqualify Marcos from 2022 race
7. Mangelen vs Marcos

Petition: Nullify Marcos’ certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA) and disqualify him from the 2022 race, also again due to the consequences of his tax conviction.

Petitioner: Abubakar Mangelen, who claims to be the “duly elected chairman of the PFP,” and insists a PFP faction issued Marcos his CONA without his consent.

Status: Resolution will be out around January 17, said Comelec.

Timeline:
December 2 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
December 6 – Petition raffled to the 1st Division.
December 21 – Comelec issues summons to Marcos.
January 7 – Deemed for resolution after petitioners and counsel skipped the preliminary conference; petition consolidated with Ilagan et al vs Marcos and Akbayan et al vs Marcos

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And another one: Now, PFP faction wants Bongbong Marcos out of 2022 race

And another one: Now, PFP faction wants Bongbong Marcos out of 2022 race
8. Salandanan et al vs Marcos (SPA 21-235)

Petition: Disqualify Marcos for having lost his right of suffrage as a result of his tax conviction, and therefore unable to meet the constitutional requirement that a president must be a registered voter.

Petitioner: Margarita Salandanan and martial law victims from La Union, represented by 1987 Constitution framer and former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod.

Status: Preliminary conference is set for January 14.

Timeline:
December 7 – Petition filed with the Comelec.
December 23 – Comelec issues summons to Marcos.
December 28 – Marcos camp submits reply to Comelec.

Must Read

Martial Law victims from the North file eighth petition vs Bongbong Marcos

Martial Law victims from the North file eighth petition vs Bongbong Marcos
What does the Marcos camp say?

The Marcos camp has downplayed the petitions against his 2022 presidential bid as nuisance and mere propaganda.

“The lawyers I talked to said it’s a nuisance petition. We will answer and show that they have no grounds,” Marcos had said in Filipino on November 9.

Marcos’ spokesman Vic Rodriguez even told the poll body it is “high time” for the Comelec to assert its independence and constitutional mandate “when they see that the petitions are trash.” 

That comment prompted a response from Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, saying “Don’t you diminish us.” – Rappler.com

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Dwight de Leon

Dwight de Leon is a multimedia reporter who covers President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Malacañang, and the Commission on Elections for Rappler.