Robredo prefers beating Marcos in polls instead of disqualification
MANILA, Philippines — If Vice President Leni Robredo had her way, she would rather beat her political rival, former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in the upcoming elections instead of him being disqualified as a presidential candidate in the May polls.
“If you were to ask me, I would rather beat him in the elections to finally put an end to all this,” Robredo said in Filipino over CNN Philippines’ “News Night” on Thursday.
What Robredo wants an end to is the debunked narrative that she cheated her way to win over Marcos Jr. in the 2016 vice presidential race.
“He needs to be defeated in the upcoming elections so that once and for all his pushing of a narrative to the people can be stopped,” she said.
Marcos, son and namesake of the deposed late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, is facing four disqualification petitions before the Commission on Elections, three of which argue that he cannot run for public office as he was convicted in 1995 of tax evasion.
Hanna Barcena, a lawyer for Marcos, told the Comelec at a preliminary hearing on the disqualification cases that he has settled his taxes and fines with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but not with the court.
The other disqualification case, filed by Abubakar Mangelen who claimed to be the former chairman of Marcos’ party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, argues he did not follow party rules in becoming its standard bearer.
Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said that a decision on the disqualification cases filed by Martial Law victims and the Akbayan party against Marcos might come out on January 17.
The 2022 presidential race is shaping up to be another showdown between Robredo and Marcos, who in 2016 faced off in the tight vice presidential derby where the incumbent vice president won with a slim margin of just over 260,000 votes.
In a survey conducted from December 6 to 11 by private pollster Pulse Asia, Marcos maintained a clear lead with 53% of respondents saying they would vote for him if elections were held then.
Robredo comes in at a far second with 20% of respondents saying they would vote for her, but her numbers have significantly improved from the previous survey where she only had 8% of respondents.
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