Presidential aspirant and former senator Bongbong Marcos skipped the COMELEC hearing on his disqualification case after being exposed to COVID-19 positive staff.
The disqualification case under COMELEC first division include:
• The petition filed by Bonifacio Ilagan, the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA), and religious and youth rights advocates,
• The petition filed by Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party, and
• The petition filed by Abubakar Mangelen claiming to be the duly-elected chairman of the PFP and that the CONA issued to Marcos Jr. is “unauthorized, defective, invalid and void.”
COMELEC Commissioner Rowena Guanzon questions why Marcos could not attend the virtual hearing.
“He is not feeling well and he cannot go in today’s videoconference,” Marcos’ representative Hanna Barcena said.
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Guanzon did not take the alibi and said that there will be implications if Marcos will not attend the hearings.
“Do you know the consequence under the rules if your client is not present during the preliminary conference? It will be submitted for decision without his evidence,” Guanzon told Barcena.
“Maybe he can be on Zoom so I can see him on video and if he’s not feeling too well and he wants to leave the scene, it’s fine as long as the screen is open. I want to see him because you don’t have medical certificate so I want to see him on video,” Guanzon added.
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It’s unclear on why Marcos has to be present in the hearing.
“Bongbong Marcos was initially exposed to his chief security, who is confined in one of the isolation/quarantine facilities since last Tuesday and subsequently to me. I was tested yesterday morning and the result came out early today and I’m positive for COVID,” Attorney Vic Rodriguez said in a separate Viber message.
