The camp of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has debunked insinuations it has something to do with the move to oust Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen from the judiciary through impeachment proceedings before Congress.
Lawyer Victor Rodriguez, who serves as spokesman of Marcos in the election protest case pending before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal and currently being handled by Justice Leonen, stressed that Marcos “has nothing to do with the impeachment complaint filed against Justice Leonen.”
“We refrain from commenting on an event or case where we are not a party as it is inappropriate for anyone to make wild accusation on something that they have no basic comprehension of the allegations, have not read the complaint and are just but the usual ballyhoos,” Rodriguez said, in a text message.
The Marcos’ camp has sought the inhibition of Leonen from handling and participating in the deliberations and resolution of his election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo for his alleged bias and being hostile against the Marcoses.
The former senator insinuated that Leonen was delaying the resolution of his election protest until it became moot and academic with the filing of candidacies for the 2022 elections in October of next year.
Marcos lamented that it took Leonen 11 months since he was assigned to the case last October 2019, to issue his first order –requiring several pleadings and documents not only from Marcos and Robredo but also from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
The PET has denied Marcos’ plea for Leonen to inhibit in a resolution issued last November 18.
The delay in the resolution of Marcos’ election protest was cited as one of the grounds for his impeachment.
Aside from this, Leonen’s impeachment is being sought for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution for failing to dispose of at least 37 cases within 24 months as mandated by Section 15 (1), Article VIII, in relation to Section 16, Article III of the Constitution, which mandates the prompt action and speedy disposition of cases and for alleged betrayal of public trust for his failure to file his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth during his tenure at the University of the Philippines (UP) as mandated by Section 7, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution.
Leonen has denied the accusations against him, saying that the impeachment complaint was filed due to “personal or vindictive reasons.”
“Given the urgent and pressing needs of our people during this time of crises, we are confident that our leaders will do the right thing. Certainly, this may not be to attend to false issues raised by some for clearly personal or vindictive reasons,” Leonen said in a statement issued Monday.