IN A bid to further prove that former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is not eligible to run for president, petitioners, led by Fr. Christian Buenafe, on Friday, December 3, 2021, said they have secured certification that indicates his conviction and that his sentence remains unserved.
In a statement, the petitioners' counsel, Theodore Te, bared that they were able to secure material documents from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City, Branch 105, confirming that Marcos has been convicted for his failure to pay his income tax.
"The certification simply cements what we have already said in the petition. The respondent has been convicted and the sentence remains unserved," said Te.
"His continuing evasion of the sentence, coupled with his repeated misrepresentation of his eligibility all those times he ran for public office, is evidence of his intent to deceive the electorate and not to abide by the laws he aspires to execute," he added.
He said the petitioners are planning to bring the matter to the urgent attention of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to be used in their petition to have the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Marcos canceled.
Te said they will also forward the matter to the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City, which is the government agency mandated to enforce the judgment of the QC RTC.
The petitioners earlier asked the Comelec to cancel Marcos' COC as he allegedly committed material misrepresentation when he claimed that he is eligible to run for president.
According to the petitioners, Marcos is not eligible since he is a convicted criminal for a crime that involves moral turpitude and was sentenced to be imprisoned for more than 18 months.
"If we continue to comply with the health protocols and get inoculated, we can sustain the decline in cases," she added. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)