The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) First Division will issue the decision on the disqualification cases against presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in about two weeks.
Presiding Commissioner Rowena Guanzon posted on her Twitter account, @rowena_guanzon, on Saturday, Jan. 8, that after the raffle on Monday, Jan. 10, a resolution of the First Division will be released around January 17.
On Friday, Jan. 7, after the preliminary conference, the First Division gave petitioners Bonifacio Ilagan and Akbayan party-list and Marcos 48 hours to submit their memoranda through electronic mail (e-mail).
The filing period will lapse at noon Sunday, Jan. 9.
The petitioners asked the poll body to disqualify the former senator from next year’s polls for his conviction for failure to file income tax returns from 1992 to 1995.
“We bring a strong case and the evidence will show that Marcos’ unfitness for public office will eventually come to light,” Akbayan said in a statement on Friday.
The third disqualification case, filed by Abubakar Mangelen, is also submitted for resolution.
Mangelen claimed he is the duly-elected chair of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, under which Marcos is running, but the presidentiable is not among their members.
Marcos is currently in isolation after exposure to two close contacts who tested positive for Covid-19 — his chief of staff, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, and a security escort.
His camp apologized to COMELEC for his absence in the hearing, saying he has a fever and had “difficulty in speaking due to a painfully congested throat”.
