The Paper's reporter Wang Zhuoyi
On November 16, local time, Sarah Duterte, daughter of Philippine President Duterte, and Marcos Jr., the son of former President Marcos, formed a running mate to jointly run for vice president and presidential office in 2022. But just a day later, Marcos Jr. faced a petition banning him from running for president, citing his conviction for tax evasion in the 1990s.
Reuters reported on November 17 that a group called "Campaign Against the Return and Martial Law of the Marcos Family" submitted complaints to the Philippine Election Commission on the same day, saying that a 1995 conviction should have permanently disqualified Marcos from holding or running for public office.
Xinhua News Agency previously reported that Marcos Jr.'s father Marcos was elected president of the Philippines in 1965 and ruled under high pressure during his term of office, and the evaluation of him in the Philippines was mixed. During Marcos' tenure in power, Marcos Jr. began serving as vice governor of his native Ilocos do Norte province in 1980, when he was 23 years old. He was then promoted to governor in 1983.
In 1986, after the overthrow of the Marcos regime, the father and son went into exile, and three years later, Marcos died in the United States. In 1991, Marcos Jr. returned to the Philippines after his exile and began his career in politics. In 1995, while serving as governor of Ilocos do Norte, Marcos Jr. was convicted of tax evasion for failing to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985. Two years later, the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.
Lawyer Howard Calleja told reporters after filing the lawsuit that Marcos had ignored the punishment he had received that year, "disrespecting the rule of law, knowing that he had been convicted, but submitting a campaign application."
Philippine internal tax law prohibits public officials convicted in tax matters from holding public office, voting or participating in any election for life. Since that sentencing, however, Marcos Jr. has held public offices such as governor, house of representatives and senators. In 2016, Marcos Jr. also ran for vice president of the Philippines, narrowly losing to the current vice president of the Philippines, Robredo.
Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported on the 18th that another anti-Marcos organization representing political detainees, human rights and medicine organizations, has also petitioned the Election Commission to revoke the candidacy of Marcos Jr. The EC will convene its first review meeting on 26 November.
Antonio La Viña, a professor of law and politics at Ateneo University in Manila, noted that election commissions usually consider disqualifying a candidate who has been barred from running only if there is a complaint. Vinya also argued that the outcome of the appeal against Little Marcos was uncertain.
According to philippine news website Rappler reported on November 17, election lawyer Emil Marañon tweeted that the "campaign against the return of the Marcos family and martial law" to disqualify The Young Marcos presidential candidacy has made a "fatal mistake", in fact, the date for applying for disqualification of the presidential candidacy has been closed on November 1.
Asked if Marcos Jr. had previously faced disqualification charges, James Jimenez, a spokesman for the Philippine Election Commission, said: "I can't remember, no. ”
The Philippines will hold presidential elections next May. In addition to Marcos Jr., the candidates include Current President Duterte's confidant, Senator Christopher Bong Go, Senator and former boxing champion Pacquiao, and Manila Mayor Moreno.
Responsible editor: Hu Zhenqing Photo editor: Le Yufeng
Proofreader: Liu Wei
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