‘Propaganda’: Marcos camp dismisses ‘predictable nuisance’ disqualification case

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. dismissed Wednesday what it called a “predictable nuisance” disqualification case filed against the former senator, and called it as nothing more than a mere “propaganda.”

Atty. Victor Rodriguez, Marcos’ spokesperson, made the remark after several groups asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify  Marcos from running for president in next year’s national elections due to his criminal conviction in a tax case 26 years ago.

“We shall address this predictable nuisance Petition at the proper time and forum – after we receive the official copy of the same,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

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

The petitioners, composed of political detainees and human rights and medical organizations that opposed Marcos’ dictatorship, claim that Marcos Jr. is not eligible to run for any public office since the Quezon City Regional Trial Court convicted him in 1995 for his failure to file income tax returns.

In a statement shared by their lawyer Theodore Te, the petitioners said that Marcos’ COC “contains multiple false material representations.”

“Specifically, Marcos falsified his Certificate of Candidacy when he claimed that he was eligible to be a candidate for president of the Philippines in the 2022 national elections when in fact he is disqualified from doing so,” the petitioners said.