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MANILA, Philippines— The government’s law firm, the Attorney General’s Office, joined the call for Deputy Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen to hold back the election protest filed by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo.
GSO’s claim was filed with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) on Monday, the same day that Marcos filed his similar claim for Leonen’s inhibition.
Leonen is the judge in charge of the electoral protest, replacing Associate Judge Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
Like Marcos, the GSO through Attorney General José Cálida pointed out the delay in resolving the electoral protest.
The OSG said that both the Law of the Republic 1793 or the law that created the PET in 1954 and Batas Pambansa 884 that reconstituted the PET require the immediate termination of an electoral protest. According to RA 1793, a protest must be decided within 20 months, while BP 884 establishes a shorter period of 12 months.
“Justice delayed is justice denied, especially in an electoral protest. The long delay in the resolution of the same is anathema for democracy, since it ignores the sanctity of the vote and the popular election of the people, ”reads the GSO demonstration.
At a press conference on Monday, Marcos said the PET has been hearing the case for more than four years, but Leonen would ask both GSO and Comelec only now about the jurisdiction to handle the election protest.
“Clearly, it’s a delaying tactic,” Marcos said.
READ THE PREVIOUS STORY: Bongbong Marcos asks Judge Leonen to withdraw from the electoral protest case against Robredo
Basically, the arguments raised by Marcos are similar to those raised by GSO but more detailed.
The former senator said that Leonen “is hostile to my family” as he mentioned Leonen’s dissenting opinion in the decision that allowed his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos, to be buried in the Libingan ng mag Bayani.
Leonen, in his dissenting opinion, said the Marcos regime has “caused untold suffering to millions of Filipinos. Thousands of people suffered serious human rights violations … Ferdinand E. Marcos remained on the sidelines while his family, partners and cronies engaged in systematic looting ”.
Leonen said that allowing Marcos to be buried in the Libingan ng mag Bayan was “capricious, capricious and an abuse of discretion.”
“The dissent of Judge Leonen evidently manifests a deep-rooted personal hatred despite the clear intention and desire of President Rodrigo E. Duterte, as stated by the majority in this Honorable Court, that the burial serve as an instrument or symbol of closure, healing and reconciliation, ”said GSO.
Marcos and Cálida’s motions also mentioned leaked reflections from Leonen that indicated the possibility of dismissing the protest. Both motions also noted that Leonen is a person appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III.
Like Marcos, OSG also asked the PET, which is made up of Supreme Court magistrates, to re-raffle the case to another magistrate.
It was Marcos who first made a motion to inhibit Leonen, followed by a press conference. Marcos denied a report that he is “joining forces” with Calida.
“I have my own legal team. I don’t need to check with SolGen. Also, he is not a supporter of mine. He is the attorney for the State, for the government … If in fact he moves to support our motion, then it means that he agrees with our arguments, ”Marcos told reporters, adding that he has not spoken with Calida.
On the other hand, Calida said that they are presenting themselves to the PET as the “Tribuna del Pueblo.”
“It is up to the GSO to present to this Honorable Court a legal position that it perceives in the best interest of the State and the People, without prejudice to the conclusions and / or position of any court of first instance, government office or party,” He read the motion of the OSG.
Marcos has raised three causes of action in his protest against Robredo: annulment of Robredo’s proclamation; counting and reviewing ballots in 36,465 precincts grouped in protest; and the annulment of the results of the elections for vice president in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan for alleged terrorism, intimidation and harassment of voters, as well as the previous shadowing of the ballots in the 2,756 precincts grouped in protest.
Last year, the PET issued a resolution following the counting and review of ballots in the three pilot provinces and affirmed that Robredo’s advantage has increased from 263,473 to 278,566.
In his memorandum presented earlier this year, Marcos asked the PET to proceed with the process of nullifying the election results in three Mindanao provinces. [ac]
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