Comelec rejects petition to merge 4 disqualification cases vs Poe

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections on Wednesday denied the petition of the camp of Sen. Grace Poe to consolidate the four disqualification cases filed against her.

Lawyer Estrella Elamparo, former Sen. Francisco "Kit" Tatad, De La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras and University of the East Law dean Amado Valdez filed separate disqualification cases against Poe, seeking to invalidate her certificate of candidacy for president in the 2016 elections.

The Comelec second division denied the senator's motion to consolidate the four cases. Poe's camp have appealed the petition.

The first division discussed the three petitions against Poe, where Tatad, Contreras and Valdez opposed to consolidate their petitions with that of Elamparo.

Tatad and Valdez, however, agreed to have their petitions consolidated within the first division.

Contreras expressed opposition in consolidating the petitions, citing that his petition pertains to the residency issue only.

The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) recently denied the disqualification case against Poe. The tribunal has ruled out the senator's residency issue and focused on citizenship instead.

The tribunal voted in favor of Poe, granting her a natural-born citizen status.

However, SET chair and Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio expressed his dissenting opinion on the decision, citing violations in the Constitution.

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