BONGBONG ASSURES SUPPORTERS HE IS ELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT; SAYS THE PETITION TO CANCEL HIS COC JUST A NUISANCE CASE

PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr dispelled today speculations that a possibility of his disqualification is not far-fetched, saying “all pieces of evidence and legal arguments in our hands clearly show that the petition against my candidacy is nothing but trash.”

Bongbong personally issued the statement today to assure his millions of suporters that his fight to serve the Filipino people under a unifying leadership is impeccable and will get through misleading propaganda.

“Kahit alam ko na ang petisyon ng mga taong ayaw umusad ang bansa sa pag-asenso ay sadyang walang kwenta, pinaghahandaan pa rin ito ng aming mga abogado,” said Bongbong, who leads in all surveys for presidential preference.

He stressed: “I’ve personally seen the documents for our defense and I’ve personally discussed them with our legal team who, along with some reputable and respectable legal experts, concluded without doubt that the petition to delist my name from the roster of applicants for the presidency is without merit and has no legal basis.”

Bongbong was referring to earlier legal views expressed in public by former Justice secretary and Ateneo law expert Alberto Agra and UST faculty of law dean Nilo Divina who have both opined that the petition has no basis in fact and in law.

“The attempt to stop Marcos, Jr. from joining the  2022 presidential race is like to fail,” said Divina, who stressed that “the petition is bound to collapse once evaluated by the Comelec because it appears to be defective in form and offers insufficient legal basis to obtain its desired judgement.”

For his part, ex-DOJ chief Agra said in a radio  interview that “there is no legal ground to cancel the CoC of Marcos, Jr.” The Ateneo law professor argued that the “petition has no legal basis and is unlikely to move forward.”

The Ateneo law professor explained that “it was clearly stated in the Omnibus Election Code that Marcos, Jr. is qualified to run for president because he had no shortcomings in his CoC submission as alleged by the peritioners.”

“Kaya nananawagan ako sa aking supporters at sa buong sambayanan na panatiliin natin ang pananalig na hindi magtatagumpay ang baluktot na hangarin laban sa aking pagtakbo, at patuloy nating ipaglaban ang karapatan ng mamamayan para sa malayang pagpili ng mga napupusuang nilang kandidato sa darating na halalan,” madamdaming pahayag ni Bongbong.