Congress leaders urge SC: Rule on Poe DQ now

MANILA, Philippines – Why is there no sense of urgency?

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon urged the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to rule with haste on the disqualification case of presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe, stressing it could affect the integrity of the May 9 elections.

“I can’t understand why they are taking so long to decide on it. They have to make a decision as soon as possible. Let’s not drag this. If they have to drop everything, then concentrate on it,” Belmonte told ABS-CBN News Channel.

Drilon said the SC appears to have “no sense of urgency.”

“This is not an ordinary case. It will have a vast impact on our future. Having oral arguments once a week, that is not giving it the urgency it deserves. I’m not dictating on the court, but it is very frustrating because we know for certain that the court could hasten the process by conducting marathon hearings,” Drilon said at a forum in Manila.

He urged the high court to “give the case extraordinary attention” so it can be decided earlier “in order to protect the integrity and credibility of the May 2016 polls.”

In Tuesday’s fourth oral argument at the SC, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio rebutted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s citing the high court rulings on Duncan vs CFI Rizal in 1976 and on Ellis vs the Republic in 1963, describing both as “misplaced” when applied to Poe’s case.

Carpio pointed out that both cases centered on the issue of adoption and not on the issue of a foundling.

Another oral argument is scheduled on Feb. 16.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) also stood pat on its argument Tuesday that Poe should be disqualified from the presidential race because of her “misrepresentations” in the certificate of candidacy, referring to the citizenship and residency claims.

It argued that while she might be a Filipino, having been found abandoned in a church in Jaro, Iloilo, she is not a natural-born citizen because her parents are unknown up to now. It also found her to be short of the required 10-year residency before the May elections.

The Constitution requires that a presidential aspirant must be a natural-born Filipino and must have resided in the country for at least 10 years before the election in which he or she is running.

Poe, who went on her second day campaigning in Cebu and in Laoag yesterday, said she committed an “honest mistake” when she filled up the certificate and that the manner of her re-acquiring Filipino citizenship was done in “good faith.”

Survey frontrunner

In criticizing the SC, Belmonte said three of the 15 justices already hold the view that Poe is not a natural-born citizen and therefore not qualified to sit in the Senate and to be a presidential candidate, referring to Associate Justices Carpio, Arturo Brion and Teresita de Castro, who sit in the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET).

The three opined that Poe is not a natural-born Filipino, being a foundling with unknown parents, but were overturned by the five senators who also sit as SET members.

Ideally, Belmonte said, the ruling on Poe’s case should already be out before Comelec prints the official ballots on Feb. 15.

He fears that if Poe’s disqualification issue drags on and the SC makes an adverse ruling at a later stage during the election campaign, “people will not like it,” stressing that “people have expectations (of the lady senator)” because she is currently the frontrunner in the surveys.

Poe regained her lead in the latest surveys, though her opponents – administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who are tied for second place – were not far behind.

Belmonte also said he is surprised why justices “are discussing this publicly.”

Asked what is his reading of the trend of questioning of three SC appointees of President Aquino, which tended to favor Poe, the Speaker said, “At the very least, it means the President is not meddling with the Supreme Court. He leaves them to use their best judgment.”

The three are Chief Justice Sereno and Justices Marvic Leonen and Francis Jardeleza.

Sereno and Leonen have raised questions on how foundlings born in the country should be treated – whether as Filipinos or as natural-born citizens.

The Comelec disqualified Poe in mid-December after declaring her to be not a natural-born citizen, since her parents are not known up to now, and because of her non-compliance to the required 10-year residency rule before the May elections.

But Sereno issued two temporary restraining orders on Dec. 28 stopping the Comelec from enforcing its ruling. Since then, the SC has held four oral arguments and has scheduled another on Tuesday, ignoring pleas for the conduct of daily arguments until submitted for resolution.

Sereno earlier promised that the SC would expeditiously resolve election cases.

Rex Gatchalian, Poe’s political spokesman, said they respect the timeline set out by the high court and would respect its decision.

On the campaign trail

Accompanied by running mate Sen. Francis Escudero, Poe told students in Toledo City, about 55 kilometers southwest of Cebu City, that the country should fight for the West Philippine Sea and that the development of the countryside should not only be focused on the island but in all areas in the Philippines.

She also praised President Aquino for signing the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Law, which she thinks will harness the system that allows the youth to participate in governance and puts more teeth on the Anti-Dynasty law.

The duo then split up, with Poe flying to Laoag and Escudero scheduling a trip to Mindanao today.

Poe will attempt to conquer the so-called Marcos country as she campaigns in the north, including a stop at the Batac public market and a talk at the Mariano Marcos State University, the same areas where Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and running mate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. kicked off their campaign last Tuesday.

Some view Poe’s visit in the province as a possible alliance with the Marcos family, who have a long-time political stronghold in Ilocos Norte, the home province of the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

Gatchalian said he is still verifying reports that Poe will have a closed-door meeting with Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos during her visit.

Poe’s team has denied any purported “secret deal” with the Marcoses, explaining that Gov. Imee, as chief executive, would always welcome visitors, more so a sitting senator.

“That’s part of our hospitable culture,” Gatchalian said.

Amid talks that Poe may be a daughter of the late president, her visit is seen as a welcome opportunity for her to get support from the vote-rich Ilocos provinces as her team campaigns in other provinces in Northern Luzon.

The campaign will culminate with a political rally in Pangasinan on Friday evening.

Gatchalian said no malice should be put into the separate campaign sorties of the two top candidates of Team Galing at Puso.

“Simply to cover more ground. We have to get our message of inclusive growth to as many people as possible. The 90 days (campaign period) is not enough to cover the entire country,” Gatchalian said in a text message.

If ever Poe becomes president, she said the role of her husband Neil Llamanzares has been defined and it would not have anything to do with government.

At a press conference in Toledo City, she stressed that her husband would continue to take care of her children, which he has been doing since she became senator in 2013.

Poe has three children, the youngest of whom is 12, while the eldest is already working.

She said that her husband has always been shy and private and so it was not surprising that he intends to keep this low profile even if she wins the presidency.

Even in her present campaign, Poe said that her husband has opted to remain on the sidelines, drawing up support for her.

Asked if he would take a role similar to that of former first gentleman Mike Arroyo, who was implicated in various questionable deals involving the government, Poe said that this early he has decided to stay out of the public eye.

Poe said that they have discussed what their arrangement would be if she becomes president and he has stated that he wanted to stay at their own home and not in Malacañang.

“I said it’s alright if he remains there, but there has to be CCTV (cameras) so that I can check if he is really home as he claims,” Poe said in jest.  – With Tina Mendez, Edu Punay, Marvin Sy, Mitchelle Palaubsanon