(Eagle News)–The Presidential Electoral Tribunal has denied the motions for Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to inhibit from proceedings stemming from the poll protest filed by former Senator Bongbong Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo.
The SC Public Information Office confirmed the SC, sitting as the PET on Tuesday, Nov. 17, denied the motions filed by Marcos and the Office of the Solicitor General.
In calling for his inhibition, Marcos and the OSG separately accused Leonen of bias.
The OSG filing prompted the PET in the en banc session to also direct the office to explain why it should not be cited in contempt.
In his 21-page extremely urgent omnibus motion, 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 a Manila Times article that said that the election protest was already prejudged by Leonen “long before the case was assigned to him,” and noted Leonen’s appointment by former President Benigno Aquino III as head of the government panel during negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
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 had said.
The PET also directed Manila Times reporter Jomar Canlas, whose reports were cited by both Marcos and the OSG, to show-cause why he should not be cited in contempt.
In filing the election protest, the former senator alleged Robredo’s camp had committed fraud in the 2016 vice presidential elections.
Robredo was declared the winner after she garnered 263,473 more votes than Marcos.
