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The Supreme Court, meeting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), on Tuesday denied motions filed separately by the Attorney General’s Office (OSG) and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., which sought to inhibit Associate Justice Marvic Leonen from driving the latter’s electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.
According to an informative note issued by the SC Public Information Office (PIO), the PET also directed the OSG and Manila Times to reporter Jomar Canlas to show why they should not be cited with contempt.
Both petitions for restraint filed by Attorney General José Cálida and Marcos mentioned Canlas’s articles when requesting Leonen’s removal from the case.
Leonen has been assigned as the person in charge of the electoral protest presented by Marcos against Robredo.
Previously, PET warned that it would impose severe penalties on the Robredo and Marcos camps for continually violating its gag order.
The Marcos camp has accused Leonen of being biased and hostile towards him and his family, based on his previous pronouncements in historical cases involving the Marcos family.
Marcos also hinted that Leonen was delaying the resolution of his electoral protest until it becomes moot and academic with the presentation of candidacies for the 2022 elections in October 2021.
Calida also said that Judge Leonen should withdraw from the case presented by Marcos for showing partiality and for deliberate delay in handling the matter.
Calida said he made the motion in accordance with the mandate of the GSO as the People’s Tribune.
On the other hand, Calida cited as clear prejudice against the Marcoses, the dissenting opinion of Judge Leonen in the Marcos burial cases.
Calida added that Leonen even grouped the Marcos family and all those associated with them into a single entity of human rights violators, regardless of age, status and the evident absence of family participation.
