MANILA — The presidential bid of the late dictator's son Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. is the most legally-contested in recent election history, with 5 separate cases seeking to bar him from entering the Halalan 2022 race, an official said Friday.

• Marcos Jr. faces 5 petitions against presidential candidacy

There are currently 5 petitions filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to prevent Marcos' participation in the presidential race, namely:

1. Buenafe, et al. vs Marcos - Petition to cancel certificate of candidacy (COC)
2. Bautista, et al vs Marcos - Petition to cancel COC (to join Buenafe petition)
3. Tiburcio Marcos vs Marcos - Petition to cancel COC
4. Danilo Lihay-Lihay vs Marcos - Petition to declare a nuisance candidate
5. Ilagan, et.al vs. Marcos- Petition to disqualify

As of now, only the Buenafe et al petition has been elevated to the division level.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the number of cases filed vs Marcos' candidacy was the most he has seen in recent memory.

• 'Dapat patas': Why petitioners are seeking Bongbong Marcos disqualification

"In 2016 wala akong nakitang ganito karami. Walang ganito karami in 2016," Jimenez said, alluding to the string of cases filed against 2016 presidential bet Grace Poe.

(In 2016 we didn't see this many [cases].

THE POE CASES

In 2015, Poe was slapped with a total of 4 Comelec cases seeking to bar her presidential bid, grounded on citizenship and residency issues:

• A foundling named Grace

• Petition filed by Estrella Elamparo to cancel Poe's COC
• Petition filed by Francisco Tatad to disqualify Poe
• Petition filed by Antonio Contreras to disqualify Poe
• Petition filed by Amado Valdez to disqualify Poe

The Tatad, Valdez, and Contreras petitions were consolidated as one while the Elamparo case was heard separately.

• Poe disqualified in 2016 polls: Comelec division
• Another Comelec division cancels Poe's COC

The twin petitions were granted in both the division and en banc levels in Dec. 2015 or 5 months away from the May 2016 elections, prompting Poe to seek the Supreme Court's intervention.

After 3 months of marathon oral arguments, in March 2016, the SC reversed the Comelec's decisions, allowing Poe to run in the May polls. She, however, failed in her bid.

• SC shakes up election race by allowing Poe to run

NO TIMELINE YET FOR MARCOS CASES

The Comelec refused to state a timeline to resolve the petitions against the Marcos candidacy.

However, the Lihay-Lihay case is expected to be finished by December along with other petitions for declaration of nuisance candidates.

• Comelec may declare 205 aspirants as 'nuisance candidates'

The Comelec has also yet to approve the petition in intervention of Bautista et al, which seeks to join the Buenafe petition.

On Nov. 26, the Comelec second division is set to conduct its preliminary conference on the Buenafe petition.

The Marcos camp has repeatedly labelled the petitions as "trash" and "nuisance" engineered by "yellow wannabe political assassins."

• Petisyon kontra sa kandidatura ni Bongbong pakana ng 'yellow assassins': spox
• Marcos Jr.'s camp says disqualification petition a 'predictable nuisance'

The Marcos family has long sought to rebuild its image and has repeatedly denied allegations that it plundered state wealth while in power, estimated in 1987 at $10 billion.

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