Guanzon to require notarized medical cert from Marcos Jr. to justify absence in Comelec hearing

Poll commissioner Rowena Guanzon on Monday said she will require the camp of presidential aspirant and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to present a notarized medical certificate after he skipped the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) deliberations on his disqualification cases.

Guanzon, who presided over the preliminary conference on three disqualification cases against Marcos last Friday, made the remark after the latter's spokesperson and chief of staff lawyer Vic Rodriguez refuted social media posts about Marcos’ radio guesting a day before his supposed appearance before the Comelec.

“Now I have to [require] the doctor who examined Marcos Jr. to have his medical [certificate] notarized and indicate his medical license number,” Guanzon tweeted.

“So. why didn’t his lead lawyer submit a medical certificate dated [January] 6 if this is true? I will order the doctor and Atty. Rodriguez to show cause or require his physician to have his medical certificate notarized,” she added.

GMA News Online has reached out to Rodriguez to get Marcos’ comment on Guanzon’s remark, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

Last Friday, Marcos failed to attend the hearing on the three disqualification cases filed against him before the Comelec because he was “not feeling well," according to one of his lawyers.

This did not go well with Guanzon, pointing out that Marcos still needs to be present via videoconference even though he is undergoing quarantine.

She warned of the consequence of Marcos' absence at the hearing as she stressed that he was summoned to attend it.

At the later part of the deliberations, a medical certificate dated January 7 from Marcos' physician was presented and read.

According to the medical certificate, Marcos was visited by his doctor at around 10 a.m. on January 6 or the day before the hearing.

His doctor said Marcos was “presenting with body malaise, febrile episodes, and difficulty in speaking due to a painfully congested throat.”

"Upon examination, he had a temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius and his throat was swollen. He reportedly had direct contact with at least two individuals who later tested positive [for COVID-19]," the medical certificate read.

Social media users, however, noticed that Marcos had a virtual interview with a local radio station at around 4:45 p.m. on January 6.

On Sunday, Marcos’ camp defended the presidential aspirant’s absence on the Comelec hearing, claiming that he had not been feeling well and that his condition may have been aggravated by a radio interview.

Rodriguez said Marcos was already feeling unwell on Thursday, January 6—after exposure to a COVID-positive staffer—but still proceeded with his scheduled morning interview.

He said Marcos’ physician arrived after the interview, determined that the former senator had a fever and throat swelling, and instructed him to take a midday rest.

Despite these instructions, Rodriguez said, Marcos went on with another radio interview in the afternoon of January 6. —KG, GMA News