Poe may still be included in ballot — Comelec

By Vince Alvic A. F. Nonato, Reporter | Posted on December 02, 2015 11:50:00 PM

“THE story is not yet over. It’s too soon to write the end of this story,” Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Arthur B. Jimenez said of Senator Grace Poe’s for-now canceled candidacy.

The Comelec is still looking at the possibility of retaining the leading presidential contender in the ballot despite its Second Division denying due course to her candidacy, Mr. Jimenez said on Wednesday.

The commissioners en banc will soon decide whether to include the leading contender in the presidential polls in the final list of candidates, which will be out by Dec. 15.

Mr. Jimenez said retaining her name in the ballot is the “more logical approach” to avoid disenfranchisement in the event higher bodies all the way to the Supreme Court decide in her favor.

This was because the Second Division’s Dec. 1 ruling to deny due course to Ms. Poe’s candidacy has not yet attained finality. Ms. Poe still has legal remedies to resort to, and her camp is readying an appeal with the Comelec en banc.

“[If] they’re put on the ballot, it’s easier to ignore the votes cast for that person, than to take them out of the ballot and then later on find out that they should’ve been on the ballot in the first place,” Mr. Jimenez said.

“It may be more practical to just include [such candidates] and then maybe stray the votes later on if they turn out to be unqualified,” he added.

Mr. Jimenez clarified this setup is not limited to Ms. Poe’s high-profile case. He cited the case of 2010 presidential candidate Vetellano Acosta, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan bet who was disqualified only two months before the elections.

“The tendency is that if there is a case that has not been resolved with finality, the tendency will be to put the name of the candidate on the list. It doesn’t matter who,” he said.

‘EXCLUDE POE’
But lawyer Estrella C. Elamparo, whose petition the Second Division granted, asked the three-member tribunal on Wednesday to strike Ms. Poe off the ballot this early on.

In her motion for clarification, Ms. Elamparo prayed for the senator’s name to be “excluded from the official list of candidates” and the ballots for the election.

“There is no need to await the finality of [the candidacy’s cancellation] before the Honorable Commission can follow its own ruling,” read the motion, adding that doing otherwise may open this ruling to the possibility of being mooted by future events.

Ms. Poe’s spokesperson, Valenzuela City Mayor Rexlon T. Gatchalian, slammed this move as something that “reeks of politics and mind-conditioning more than seeking clarification from the Comelec.”

“The move of Atty. Elamparo is premature. As a lawyer, she should know better than not to wait for the en banc to resolve the matter on hand,” Mr. Gatchalian said in a text message.

He said of Comelec’s inclination to retain her name in the ballot: “All parties must abide by the decrees of Comelec. The process must be respected.”

Sought for comment, administration coalition spokesperson Akbayan Rep. Ibarra M. Gutierrez III said: “We trust the Comelec to do its job. They are an independent constitutional body, and we will respect whatever decision they arrive at on this issue.”

Mr. Gutierrez represents the coalition backing rival candidate Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas II.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin S. Lacierda for his part said: “We believe that sobriety and respect for the law and its processes are the best way forward for all parties concerned.”

The spokespersons of Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay, a rival candidate, did not respond to requests for comment.

Apart from the Elamparo case, Ms. Poe faces three others with the Comelec First Division. One was a petition for disqualification filed by former senator Francisco S. Tatad, while the other two were petitions to cancel her candidacy filed by political science professor Antonio P. Contreras and former law dean Amado D. Valdez.

Mr. Tatad’s legal counsel, Manuelito V. Luna, said he expects the First Division to similarly rule against Ms. Poe.

“Predictably, the 1st Division will disqualify Poe on ground of lack of natural-born citizenship and lack of compliance with the period of residence requirement in the Constitution,” Mr. Luna said in a text message.

HOWLS
Ms. Poe’s political allies have expressed disappointment with the Comelec division’s action, deeming it a display of partisan politicking.

Her running mate, Senator Francis Joseph G. Escudero, said in a series of Twitter posts that the resolution is “both unfortunate and wrong.”

“It ignored jurisprudence & interpreted the law to render injustice rather than justice. : (” read Mr. Escudero’s tweet punctuated by a frowning emoticon.

He added there were dozens of nuisance candidates before Comelec, but it chose to “really go for Sen. Grace to be DQ’d.” Again, the tweet in Filipino was punctuated by a sad face.

Another candidate for vice-president who backs Ms. Poe, Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV, said “this is a blatant display of partisan politics,” pointing out why she was cleared by Comelec to run for senator in 2013.

He also said: “Comelec does not have a mandate to choose candidates. In a Democracy, it is the people who should choose their own leaders.”

Vice-presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. gave Ms. Poe a “brotherly advice” — a humorous reference to rumors that the foundling senator was actually a daughter of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

“Keep going, keep going,” Mr. Marcos was quoted in a statement. “Don’t be disheartened and just know that when you are doing the right thing. You will in the end succeed.”

Supporters protesting Ms. Poe’s disqualification outside the Comelec office raised the suspicion that this was orchestrated by Malacañang to ensure Mr. Roxas’s win on the heels of a tepid performance in presidential surveys.

LAPDOG CHARGE
“Comelec, tuta ni Mar (Mar’s lapdog),” they chanted. The protesters also cast doubt on the fact the three commissioners — Al A. Parreño, Arthur D. Lim and Sheriff M. Abas — are appointees of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III.

“We are not anybody’s lapdog!,” Mr. Jimenez retorted.

He told reporters the commissioners should be given the benefit of the doubt, “because you have people of probity in the Commission.”

“I think the question of who appointed them is irrelevant, because it doesn’t matter either way. They will inhibit themselves if they feel they can no longer be impartial judges,” Mr. Jimenez said.

For his part, Mr. Lacierda pointed out the commissioners have already gone through the process of confirmation.

“The Comelec is an independent constitutional commission. We will just urge everyone to respect the rule of law,” Mr. Lacierda said. “There is a process. They have an opportunity to avail [themselves] of the process, exhaust all remedies available to them.”

Ms. Poe’s candidacy was canceled after the Second Division found she committed material misrepresentation by presenting herself as a Philippine resident since May 2005 to meet the requirement for presidential candidates. The resolution bound her by her statement in her 2013 certificate of candidacy that she resided in the country since November 2006.

As a foundling, she was also deemed not a natural-born Filipino, having unknown parentage.

Source: www.bworldonline.com