A petition to disqualify by cancelling or denying the certificate of candidacy or COC of former senator Bongbong Marcos has been filed at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
The petition was filed by civic leaders on the grounds of Marcos’ 1997 tax conviction among others.
In July 1995, Marcos was convicted on four charges of violating Section 45 of the 1977 National Internal Revenue Code for failing to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985.
He was ordered by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to pay a fine of PHP30,000 in one of the cases. The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals, but he no longer appealed to the Supreme Court.
The petitioners came from a group of human rights groups, political detainees and medical societies opposing Marcos dictatorship.
Based on COMELEC rules the deadline to file petitions to cancel COC is until November 2.
The poll body has the exclusive ground or authority to declare misrepresentation in the COC.
Petitioners said the misrepresentation was saying he’s eligible when supposedly his conviction makes him ineligible.
The petitioned claim that Marcos is not eligible to run for any public office because he is a convicted criminal.
