MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Grace Poe on Saturday expressed her confidence that the Supreme Court (SC) would act swiftly on the petition her legal team would submit on Monday.
Poe’s lawyer George Garcia has announced he would file a petition challenging the final ruling of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) which canceled the senator’s certificate of candidacy (COC) for president.
Poe added that she trusts the high tribunal would also decide in favor of “genuine democratic elections that allow foundlings like her to run.”
“We are confident that, giving due consideration to the strong evidence, jurisprudence and pertinent principles and precepts, the Justices will uphold our cause and the right of the people to a genuine choice in the elections,” the senator said.
Justices of the Supreme Court are on recess until January 10.
However, under Rule 7, Section 7 of the SC Internal Rules, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes is “empowered to act on urgent cases and issue temporary restraining orders (TROs) or status quo ante orders (SQAOs) without holding a session of the justices,” the statement read.
Such reliefs, however, must be confirmed by the majority of the justices when sessions resume, which is on January 11 for the divisions and January 12 for the full court, Poe’s camp added.
The Comelec en banc decided to grant the four petitions seeking to remove Poe from the presidential race on December 23. Poe’s camp only has five days to seek relief from the SC after the promulgation of the en banc decision.
The Comelec said Poe’s name remains in the ballot pending the final resolution of the case.
“I assure everyone that I am still a candidate for president. Let us fight for genuine democratic elections, where Filipinos are allowed to choose their leaders. The ambitions of a few should never be allowed to subvert the will of the majority,” Poe said.