Bongbong Marcos 'not going to back down, withdraw' despite petition to cancel candidacy

Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday underscored that he will not back down and withdraw from the presidential race after petitioners representing human rights organizations asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to cancel his certificate of candidacy.

The groups on Tuesday night said Marcos was convicted on July 27, 1995 for failure to file income tax returns several times from 1982 to 1985.

They said this made the son and namesake of the late dictator ineligible to run for office because he was a "convicted criminal."

Marcos refuted these allegation, saying it was a political ploy.

“Hindi ko nga naintindihan kasi sinasabi nila may problema raw sa aking kandidatura. May isang kaso raw na hindi naayos. Hindi ko alam. Sasagutin na lang namin ito pagdating,” the former senator said in a radio interview.

(I don't understand because they said there was a problem with my candidacy. They said there is a case that has not been fixed. I don't know. We will just answer it in time.)

“Siguro kasama na rin ‘yan sa pagpolitika lalo na ‘yong aming mga kalaban. Imbes na humarap sa sa eleksyon, kasi siguro natatakot sila sa numero, idi-disqualify na lang ako,” he added.

(Maybe that is also part of the politicking, especially of our opponents. Instead of facing the election, because maybe they are afraid of the number of votes, then they will just have me disqualified.)

Meanwhile, Marcos' spokesperson Atty. Victor Rodriguez announced that they will address the petition in a proper time and forum after they have received the official copy.

“Until then, we will refrain from commenting on their propaganda. Our camp does not engage in gutter politics. Our campaign is about nation building,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

“For presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos, this election is about the future of the Filipino people,” he added.

Like Duterte's case

Marcos compared this incident to what happened to President Rodrigo Duterte during Eleksyon 2016 elections. In December 2015, broadcaster Rizalito David asked Comelec to declare Duterte's candidacy as PDP-Laban's substitute presidential bet null and void.

“Unfortunately, naging kasama na rin ‘yan sa ginagawa ng mga politiko ngayon. Kung maalala ninyo, ‘yong takbo ni Duterte ganoon din ang nangyari. Sinusubukan rin siyang i-disqualify dahil hindi na kaya sa election. Eh parang ganoon din ang pakiramdam ko na ganoon din ang ginagawa sa akin,” he said.

(Unfortunately, that has also become part of what the politicians are doing today. If you remember, this also happened during Duterte’s campaign. They also tried to disqualify him because they could no longer win the election. I feel that the same thing is being done to me.)

Meanwhile, the former senator expressed gratitude to his supporters saying that he will not withdraw from the presidential race.

“Pero hindi ako natatakot. Hindi ako aatras. Hindi ako mag-withdraw. Patuloy ang lahat ng aking gagawin. Hindi ako mag-slide down. Patuloy lang ang aking kandidatura. At sa aking mga supporters sa buong Pilipinas, nagpapasalamat  ako na hindi nawawala ang inyong tiwala sa akin,” he said.

(But I’m not afraid. I’m not going to retreat. I’m not going to withdraw. Everything I do I will continue. I’m not going to slide down. Just continuing my candidacy. And to my supporters all over the Philippines, I am thankful that you are not losing your trust in me.)

The petitioners said the crimes for which Marcos was convicted by final judgment were also crimes involving moral turpitude that disqualify Marcos from being a candidate for any office under Section 12 of the Omnibus Election Code.

Meanwhile, Oxford University earlier confirmed that Marcos did not receive a full graduate diploma more than 40 years ago.

Marcos’ camp has maintained that the former senator obtained a degree from Oxford, one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

The former senator filed his certificate of candidacy for President on October 6, a day after he took his oath as a member of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), a political party allied with the Duterte administration. —KG, GMA News