HULING DQ VS BBM IBINASURA NG COMELEC

IBINASURA ng  Commission on Elections ngayong Miyerkoles ang huling  disqualification case laban kay presidential frontrunner  Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Sa  29-pahinang desisyon  na nilagdaan nina Commissioners Socorro Inting, Aimee Ferolino at Aimee Torrefranca Neri, ibinasura  ng Comelec First Division ang petisyon na humaharang sa   presidential bid ni Marcos, dahil sa kakulangan ng merito.

Matatandaang hiniling ng Pudno Nga Ilocano sa Comelec  na i-disqualify si Marcos Jr. dahil sa  tax evasion conviction at umano’y  hindi karapat dapat sa public office.

“As it now stands, Respondent possesses all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications under the 1987 Constitution and relevant laws,”  ayon sa poll body.

Katulad ng mga naunang desisyon sa  disqualification cases laban kay  Marcos Jr. noong Pebrero, sinabi ng  Comelec na hindi maaring madiskwalipika ang dating  senador sa presidential race dahil “failure to file an income tax return is not a crime involving moral turpitude.”

“If failure to file income tax return is considered alone, it would appear that it is not inherently wrong. This is supported by the fact that the filing of income tax return is only an obligation created by the law and the omission to do so is only considered as wrong because the law penalizes it,”  dagdag pa ng Comelec.

Hindi rin sumang-ayon ang poll body sa mga petitioner na hinatulan si Marcos Jr. sa krimen na may parusang mahigit 18 buwan kung saan dapat siyang madiskuwalipika sa pagtakbo at paghawak ng anumang pampublikong tungkulin.

Sinabi ng Comelec na binanggit ng mga petitioner ang “hindi naaangkop na batas,” at walang kapangyarihan ang poll body na amyendahan o baguhin ang desisyon na pinasiyahan ng Court of Appeals kay Marcos Jr.

“It is evident that Respondent paid his income tax through the withholding system, albeit not in full. Even if his tax liability was not paid in full, the same was not done willfully by Respondent since, as the CA explained, it is the government’s obligation to withhold the income tax of Respondent and the latter had the right to rely on the computation of the taxes withheld,” ayon pa sa poll body.

“Regardless of the fact that the non-filing of income tax return was done repeatedly by Respondent, there is still no tax evasion to speak of as no tax was actually unintentionally evaded,” dagdag pa nito.

Nilinaw rin ng Comelec na sa kaso ni Marcos Jr., ang paghahain ng income tax return ay para lamang sa record purposes at hindi para sa pagbabayad ng kanyang tax liabilities.

Nang hingan ng komento habang nasa  campaign sortie sa Occidental Mindoro, sinabi ni Marcos na magandang development ito at masaya sila dahil lumabas ang desisyon bago ang eleksiyon. JEFF GALLOS