The decision by the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) affirming Sen. Grace Poe’s claim that she is a natural-born Filipino, and by extension her eligibility to run for president next year, is not totally unexpected, as citizenship issues also hounded her late father, acting legend Fernando Poe Jr., who actually managed to run for the presidency back in 2004.
It wasn’t also unexpected that the three Supreme Court (SC) justices in the SET like Justice Antonio Carpio voted against Poe’s contention since Carpio also voted against her father’s back in the day.
Still the senator, who still tops the surveys and has built a substantial lead over her closest competitor, had a muted celebration as reported by the media because the citizenship issue is far from over.
The main complainant, defeated senatorial candidate Rizalito David, also did not wallow in the familiar feeling of defeat because he knows that he can elevate his petition to the SC.
But his cause for optimism is tenuous at best, owing to the slow pace of review of the SC. The High Tribunal has a ton of cases lodged before it, and David’s petition may not be on top of the pile.
That’s why the SC may rule for or against Poe by the time the 2016 elections are over, and she may or may not have become the president of the country.
By that time, would there be enough public support for her ouster either as president or as senator in case she lost? (She can still serve her Senate term until the next elections which was why she didn’t hesitate to run for the presidency.)
The SET decision may be driven more by political considerations rather than legal weight, and like David, Poe can appeal her case to the Supreme Court. But the decision allows Poe the room and the chance not only to run but also to build her case before the Filipino people.
That in essence was Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s statement when asked about Poe’s citizenship woes, and people can debate about the wisdom or the thinking behind this stance, including presidential timber and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Unlike her father, who lost to former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and then died on the same year only to be somewhat vindicated next year when the “Hello Garci” scandal erupted, Senator Poe has better public support and has other groups at her side. And we can only hope that everyone will do his or her part to protect the integrity of the elections.
Hopefully, by the time the elections come around, election apparatus and system are in place to avoid any possibility of manipulation and tampering of votes.
By that time, Poe will have her chance to prove that she is not only a natural-born Filipino but also a capable leader of the country for the next six years.