Fact check: Game over? DQ, Cancel COC petitions vs Marcos still pending
MANILA, Philippines — A YouTube video claimed that the "game is over" in the legal challenges against president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s that are pending before the Supreme Court, following a supposed "order" from Solicitor General Jose Calida to dismiss the cases.
CLAIM: A YouTube channel captioned its video with a “breaking” tag and claimed Calida has “ordered” the Supreme Court to throw out cases against Marcos.
RATING: This is false.
FACTS:
What the post says
YouTube channel Showbiz Fanaticz posted on Monday a video with a headline that said Solicitor General Jose Calida "ordered" the SC, the highest court in the land, to dismiss all cases against Marcos.
It added that Vice President Leni Robredo, who is not a party to any of the cases, was supposedly "embarrassed."
The video started with the unnamed narrator making a bold claim that “game is over.” He said that no less than Calida told the SC to dismiss the cases relating to the disqualification and cancellation of Marcos’ Certificate of Candidacy.
The narrator then went on to read an article from the Daily Tribune with the headline “Junk case vs Marcos, OSG asks SC.”
"Matapos ang naging pahayag ni solicitor general tila burado agad sa korte suprema ang samu’t saring disqualification at cancellation of Certificate of Candidacy na inihain ng mga petitioners laban sa pagpigil kay Bongbong Marcos na manumpa bilang ika-17 president ng Pilipinas," it added.
(After the statement of the solicitor general, it seemed like various disqualification and cancellation of COC cases filed to stop the oath-taking of Marcos as 17th president of the country have been erased.)
Screengrab by Philstar.com
What it left out
Petitions for certiorari questioning the Commission on Elections resolutions that dismissed the pleas of the disqualification and cancellation of Marcos' COC are still pending before the SC.
The SC Public Information Office, to date, has yet to make an announcement whether these have already been resolved.
The article quoted in the video, meanwhile, was reporting on a statement by Calida on the Comment it submitted to the SC. The tribunal had ordered respondents in the case, which included the Comelec and Marcos’ legal team, to comment.
According the Calida’s statement, his office filed an Opposition for the House of Representatives—one of the respondents in the case.
Calida also did not “order” the SC to dismiss the cases but only sought the dismissal of the petitions. The solicitor general has no authority to give the Supreme Court orders.
Essential context
President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s bid was met with at least seven legal challenges but all were dismissed both at the division and en banc level, prompting the petitioners to elevate their case to the Supreme Court.
One of their petitioners’ prayers was for the SC to issue a temporary restraining order to enjoin the House of Representatives and the Senate from canvassing the votes cast for Marcos and proclaim him, if he gets the most number of votes, as the 17th president of the country— set next week — pending the resolution of their petition.
Respondents were given 15 days to file their comment, including on the prayer for TRO.
But the period for submission of comment covered the week of the Congress canvassing where Marcos was proclaimed as the 17th president of the Philippines.
Why it matters
A day after the video was posted, it already earned 27,370 views and 1,600 likes with 121 comments.
The legal challenges against Marcos’ bid, when they were first filed, were all expected to reach the SC.
While the Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, has already proclaimed Marcos, the cases at the SC may still be resolved.
According to the Comelec Rules of Procedure, a Petition for Disqualification may be filed “any day after the last day for filing of [COC] but not later than the date of proclamation” — the period when the pleas where first filed before the Comelec and are now pending before the SC.
Part of the petitioners’ prayer to the SC is to declare Marcos to “have never been a candidate in the 2022 National Elections.”
“With Respondent Marcos Jr.’s Void COC, the Eligible Candidate with the Next Highest Number of Votes Should be Proclaimed,” they told the court,” they told the SC citing the case of Jalosjos.
The petitioners also cited the Velasco doctrine that explained the second placer rule. In it, the court said that when faced between provisions on material qualifications of elected officials and the will of the electorate, “we believe and so hold that we cannot chose the electorate will.” — Kristine Joy Patag
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This story is supported by the Philippine Fact-check Incubator, an Internews initiative to build the fact-checking capacity of news organizations in the Philippines and encourage participation in global fact-checking efforts.
Philstar.com is also a founding partner of Tsek.ph, a collaborative fact-checking project for the 2022 Philippines’ elections and an initiative of academe, civil society groups and media to counter disinformation and provide the public with verified information.
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