The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Second Division denied the only petition filed by Martial Law victims seeking to cancel presidential aspirant’s Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC).

This gives Marcos Jr. a freedom from numerous cases filed to block his presidential bid in elections 2022.

In a statement, the lawyers said the Comelec’s Second Division denied their petition and they received the resolution 9:50 a.m. on Monday.

"In essence, the Comelec agreed with the petitioners that the representations made in Item 11 and Box 22 of the COC of Marcos Jr. are material but disagreed that they were false; in the process, the Second Division ruled that there was no ground to cancel Marcos Jr.’s COC on the ground of material misrepresentation," they said.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez confirmed in a later virtual conference that the decision has been promulgated.

Marcos Jr.’s spokesperson Vic Rodriguez gives his response to the Comelec’s ruling.

 “The petitioners’ mere creativity for writing and wanting what is not written in the law as basis to cancel the certificate of candidacy of Presidential Aspirant Bongbong Marcos is way too frivolous and unmeritorious to override the basic precepts of the Constitution,” he said in a statement.

The lawyers, led by Theodore Te, expressed their disapproval to the Comelec in its ruling that “the material representations made were not false.” They said they will file an appeal before the Commission En Banc within the given five-day period.

It is appealable to the Comelec En Banc, after which moves can be made to go to the Supreme Court.

This is the only petition to cancel his COC that Marcos is facing. However, the former Senator is still facing disqualification suits, citing the same tax conviction, pending before the First and Second Division of Comelec.

However, Jimenez said the ruling on the petition to cancel COC has no impact with other cases against Marcos that remain pending.

“It is difficult to speculate on other cases on the basis of one decision. Let us wait for each decision to be promulgated and we will discuss them as they come out,” he said.

The First Division, handling three petitions for disqualification, will be making an announcement on these cases on Monday.