Supreme Court asked to issue injunction on Poe’s campaign run

After being knocked out in their bid to disqualify movie actor and opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. from the presidential race, brothers Victorino and Andresito Fornier elevated their case before the Supreme Court yesterday, urging the high court to immediately resolve the issue as the May 10 elections draw near.

In a 62-page petition, the Forniers asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order against the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which had allowed Poe to campaign in the May 10 elections.

The Forniers also urged the high court to immediately resolve the issue of Poe’s citizenship and order the Comelec against enforcing its Jan. 23 ruling dismissing their petition against Poe.

The Comelec en banc dismissed last week the motion for reconsideration filed by Victorino, upholding the Jan. 23 ruling by the poll body’s first division. Comelec pointed out Poe did not misrepresent himself to be a Filipino citizen qualified to run for president.

The five-member poll body — then still without replacements for two retired commissioners — based its decision on the argument that "proof of misrepresentation with a deliberate intent to misrepresent must be established."

The Forniers were joined by another lawyer, Themistocles Saño Jr., in filing the petition for certiorari with application for temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction, or both, before the SC.

"We are actually asking the SC not to remand the case anymore to the Comelec in the event the petition for certiorari will be granted but to render a decision on its own," said Andresito.

"This is allowed, the SC has already made certain decisions... because of immediacy and national interest," he added.

Sources said the SC will take immediate action on the petition of the Fornier brothers considering the campaign period officially kicked off yesterday with less than 90 days before the elections on May 10.

The Fornier maintained Poe misrepresented himself as a natural-born Filipino when he filed his candidacy before the Comelec last December.

The petition was based on their earlier claims that Poe was an illegitimate child of Bessie Kelley, an American who later got married to Allan Fernando Poe Sr.

The petitioners pointed out they were able to prove before Comelec that Poe was born a year before his parents got married, in effect making him an illegitimate child following the citizenship of his mother.

Fornier also pointed out that Comelec apparently failed to exhaustively conclude that Poe is a natural-born citizen, leaving the issue still open.

"This is a very, very material misrepresentation to claim that you are a natural-born Filipino when you know that base on the law as well on the fact that you are an American," said Andresito.

With the Comelec throwing out their petition in finality, the brothers said they have no choice but to elevate the case before the Supreme Court.

"Unless enjoined by this Honorable Court through a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction, the enforcement of Comelec resolution will enable Poe to pursue his candidacy for presidential elections," the petition said.

The brothers claimed the enforcement of the Comelec resolution "will tend to render judgment in the instant petition ineffectual and continue to cause grave and irreparable injury to petitioner as well as the rest of the Filipino people, in that sanctity of electoral process, on which the democratic institutions of the government is anchored."

Andresito earlier said several legal issues were never addressed by the poll body which prompted them to seek remedy before the Supreme Court.