Comelec junks petition to cancel Marcos' COC
Philstar.com
January 17, 2022 | 11:16am
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/17/2154462/comelec-junks-petition-cancel-marcos-cocMANILA, Philippines (Update 3, 12:42 p.m.) — The Commission on Elections denied the plea filed by Martial Law victims seeking to cancel presidential aspirant’s Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s Certificate of Candidacy.
This frees Marcos of another legal challenge filed to block his presidential bid.
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"In essence, the Comelec agreed with the petitioners that the representations made in Item 11 and Box 22 of the COC of Marcos Jr. are material but disagreed that they were false; in the process, the Second Division ruled that there was no ground to cancel Marcos Jr.’s COC on the ground of material misrepresentation," they said.
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No deliberate mispresentation
Petitioners had asserted that Marcos made a misrepresentation in his COC because he is ineligible to run since his conviction of failure to file Income Tax Returns for four years allegedly carries the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding any public office, to vote and to participate in any election.
The petitioners pointed out that Marcos declared under oath that he has never been found liable for any offense, which carries the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification to hold public office. This was when he ticked the NO box on the COC he filed.
In resolving the petition, the Comelec division said they cannot “agree with Petitioners’ theory that Respondent’s convictions for failure to file [ITRs] for taxable years 1982 to 1984 render him perpetually disqualified from holding any public office, to vote and to participate in any election for the simple reason that to do so would violate the Constitutional proscription against ex post facto laws.”
In their memorandum, Marcos’ lawyers said the 1977 National Internal Revenue Code did not impose “perpetual disqualification” as penalty, as this was only part of PD 1994 which took effect on Jan. 1, 1986.
Following this, the mandatory filing of Income Tax Returns for the years of 1982-1984 already lapsed before PD 1994 took effect and applying so would give the law an ex post facto effect, which is unconstitutional.
For 1985, the mandatory filing fell on March 18, 1986, but Marcos was then no longer a public officer, the Comelec said.
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