(Eagle News)–Former Senator Bongbong Marcos has asked Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to recuse himself from proceedings related to his election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.
In asking for Leonen’s inhibition in his 21-page extremely urgent omnibus motion, Marcos noted what he said was the associate justice’s “evident bias and manifest partiality” in favor of the vice president.
Marcos said Leonen’s “palpable bias and partiality” was evident against the Marcos family in his opinion against former President Ferdinand Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
The former President is the former senator’s father.
The former senator also noted Leonen’s appointment by former President Benigno Aquino III’s as head of the government panel during negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and a Manila Times article that said that the election protest was already prejudged by Leonen “long before the case was assigned to him.”
Aquino was chair of the Liberal Party when he was president of the Philippines.
Robredo is a high-ranking member of the party.
“Given the fact that the Supreme Court is a collegial body, it would be unfair and unjust for the other members of this esteemed tribunal to be tainted by the apparent impropriety of Associate Justice Leonen,” the former senator said.