Poe not optimistic on Comelec ruling on disqualification case

MANILA, Philippines - With the way things are going, Sen. Grace Poe admitted she is not optimistic about getting a favorable decision from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on her appeal to have her disqualification as presidential candidate by the poll body’s Second Division reversed.

At a press conference in Iloilo yesterday, Poe said she is aware her journey to Malacañang would not be easy and that she is ready for whatever is decided by the Comelec convened as a whole.

“Based on what I am seeing, it seems unlikely that the Comelec will decide in our favor,” Poe said in Filipino.

“But whatever their decision would be, I want to know if they considered the documents we submitted (to prove our case),” she added.

Poe earlier complained that the Comelec’s Second Division, in disqualifying her, did not consider the voluminous evidence her camp submitted to prove that she is a natural-born citizen and that she has complied with the 10-year residency requirement for presidential candidates.

The Second Division acted on a petition filed by former Government Service Insurance System chief legal counsel Estrella Elamparo.

Poe’s running mate Sen. Francis Escudero echoed her sentiments, saying they would have a better chance of getting a fair shake from the Supreme Court where they expect to elevate her appeal.

Escudero, a lawyer, said he does not expect the three Second Division members to change their position in full session.

“The other side would need just one more vote in order to disqualify Senator Grace. So the truth is, we are not optimistic about the ruling of the Comelec en banc,” Escudero said.

“We always hope for the best but expect the worst as well. But we are prepared for whatever decision they come out with,” he added.

Apart from the strength of the evidence presented by Poe, Escudero said there was a favorable Supreme Court ruling on a similar case involving her father, the late action star Fernando Poe Jr.

“In the 2004 decision of the Supreme Court on FPJ, it basically said that the people should be allowed to make their own decisions. Allow him to run. The Court said in that case through former Chief Justice Rey Puno, ‘We cannot leave to the unelected members of this Court the power and right to decide who the next president will be. That decision is best left to the sovereign Filipino people’,” Escudero said.

Escudero said that there is no Plan B, C or D for them on the issue because their assumption is that the law is on their side and Poe would be allowed to run for president.

If ever the full Comelec rules against Poe, Escudero said the poll body should still include her name in the ballot while waiting for the Supreme Court’s final ruling on the issue.

Escudero said that one of two things could happen if Poe is disqualified by the Comelec convened as a whole: Poe’s name would be included in the ballot or the Supreme Court could issue a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of the decision so that Poe’s name would be included in the ballot.

He said he expects the Comelec to know better than to remove Poe’s name from the ballot prematurely after its experience with one party-list group in the 2010 elections.

Escudero recalled that the party-list group was disqualified by the Comelec and removed from the ballot – a decision reversed by the Supreme Court.  – With Non Alquitran