Sen. Grace Poe’s muted celebration of her victory at the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) was justified in light of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) second division’s decision that disqualified her from the presidential race.
In ruling for her disqualification, the Comelec said the senator lied when she claimed in her certificate of candidacy (COC) that she would have been a resident of the Philippines for 10 years and 11 months on May 9, 2016, the date of the national elections.
Comelec pointed to Poe’s COC in her Senate run which showed that she would have been a resident of the Philippines for only nine years and six months on election day, falling short of the mandatory 10-year residency period.
As if to reiterate its point, the Comelec said while Poe’s foundling status doesn’t deprive her of her being a natural-born Filipino citizen, the Constitution requires that she should have the bloodline of a Filipino parent to reinforce her status.
On hearing the news, Poe and her running mate Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero were quick to blame her two closest rivals, Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay, of trying to pull the strings of the Comelec and even the courts to disqualify her from the race.
But the Aquino administration, of which Roxas is part of and which had given its blessing for him to run under the LP banner, was clearly seen by the public as having exerted influence over the SET to allow Senator Poe to run for the presidency.
For practical political purposes, both the President and Roxas know that trying to bar a Poe presidential run would work against them eventually as even Binay will capitalize on it to further enhance his candidacy amid the sea of corruption charges leveled at him.
As per latest report, Poe’s camp said they have in their possession a US certification that will dispel the Comelec 2nd division ruling that disqualified her from the presidential contest.
Until then, Poe will have to wait for the Comelec en banc ruling that will decide whether or not she is qualified to run.
And even if she doesn’t get a favorable decision, the senator could even elevate her case all the way to the Supreme Court.
But the Comelec en banc ruling is crucial if only to settle any fears among Poe’s followers that a question mark over her candidacy will create doubts in the public’s mind about her legitimacy as both a candidate and a Filipino citizen.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s assertion of her as “an American” would especially stick in the minds of not only his supporters but the general voters as well if the Comelec rules against her.
For the public’s sake, we hope the Comelec rules on the Poe case before the year ends. The senator’s legitimacy should not be left hanging after the eventual printout of ballots for next year’s elections.