Activists want top Philippine court to void presidential win
Human rights groups argue Marcos Jr. was ineligible to run
Human rights activists have asked the Philippine Supreme Court to block Congress from proclaiming Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the next president, alleging that he lied when he said he had not been convicted of any crime.
The Commission on Election twice dismissed their petition and six other similar complaints to cancel Marcos Jr.’s candidacy papers ahead of the May 9 vote. The petitioners elevated the case to the highest court on Monday, saying Marcos Jr. was convicted in 1995 of tax evasion with a jail term, which should have permanently barred him from seeking public office.
A 1997 Court of Appeals ruling upheld Marcos Jr.’s conviction for failing to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985 and ordered him to settle his unpaid taxes and fines, but did not mention any imprisonment.
Most of the petitioners are leaders of groups representing survivors of martial law in the 1970s under late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the father of the presumptive next president. They want the court to temporarily block the Senate and the House of Representatives from undertaking an official canvassing of votes starting next week that would eventually proclaim Marcos Jr. as the winner.
“Our petition notes that a candidate’s
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If the Supreme Court were to allow such a brazen lie to trump the rule of law, all substantive eligibility requirements in all future elections can be circumvented by ineligible candidates. FIDES LIM HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SPOKESPERSON
imminent victory cannot cure his ineligibility,” said Fides Lim, spokesperson of one of the human rights groups.
“If the Supreme Court were to allow such a brazen lie to trump the rule of law, all substantive eligibility requirements in all future elections can be circumvented by ineligible candidates who happen to secure a victory,” she said.
Marcos Jr. had more than 31 million votes in an unofficial count in what’s projected to be one of the strongest mandates for a Philippine president in decades. Sara Duterte, his vice-presidential running mate and daughter of the outgoing populist president, appears to have also won with a large margin.
His electoral triumph is a striking reversal of the “People Power” revolt in 1986 that forced his father out of office following years of human rights violations and plunder that Marcos Jr. has never acknowledged.
Unofficial counts also show that allies of Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte are set to capture most of the 300 seats in the House of Representatives and half of the 24-seat Senate up for election, and likely the chambers’ top leaderships.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders have congratulated Marcos Jr. and Duterte on their victory.