MANILA, Philippines — Defeated vice presidential candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos Jr. yesterday asked Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to inhibit from his election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.
In a 22-page manifestation with urgent omnibus motion filed before the high court, Marcos wants Leonen to be barred from participating in any proceedings of the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
Marcos cited Leonen’s “scathing pronouncements” against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in his dissenting opinion in the Marcos burial case, which allegedly “displayed palpable bias and partiality against the entire family.”
Solicitor General Jose Calida also sought Leonen’s inhibition from Marcos’ electoral protest.
Calida and Marcos asked that the poll complaint be re-raffled to another member of the high court and all pending incidents related to the case be resolved.
Marcos said the SC has yet to resolve the electoral protest he filed against Robredo on June 28, 2016.
The lawyers of Robredo slammed Marcos’ appeal to the SC.
In a statement, Bernadette Sardillo and Emil Marañon likened Marcos to a “spoiled brat who cries when he doesn’t get candy,” and described his move as another “mind conditioning game.”
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said he expects Marcos’ motion to be referred first to Leonen himself as inhibition is a matter for the magistrate to decide.
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