THREE petitions seeking the disqualification of Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, from running for president in the May 2022 elections have been set for preliminary conference on Jan. 7.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena V. Guanzon, who is part of the division handling the three cases, made the announcement in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
She said in a separate Facebook post that the summons have been sent to Mr. Marcos, who has five days from receiving these to file a response.
Ms. Guanzon also said that people should not blame the Comelec for the delay in the proceedings because one petitioner has not given a copy of their petition to respondent Marcos.
The Comelec was aiming to have the cases resolved within December.
The three cases were filed by Bonifacio Ilagan, Abubakar Mangelen, and progressive group Akbayan.
“The Akbayan petition looks better than others,” Ms. Guanzon said.
There are seven cases filed against Mr. Marcos, including four for disqualification, two for cancellation, and one to declare him as a nuisance candidate, which has already been junked by the Comelec.
Most of the remaining petitions cite that Mr. Marcos is not qualified to run for president as he has been convicted for tax evasion, a crime that permanently bars the perpetrator from public office. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan