The hearing is set at 10 a.m. Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos said they may decide on the dispute by the first week of January.
The country’s largest opposition party split after its president, Sen. Edgardo Angara, endorsed Poe. The other faction, meanwhile, led by its secretary-general, Makati Rep. Agapito Aquino, backs Lacson.
Angara put Aquino on forced leave and expelled some of his backers early this month when Aquino’s faction named Lacson as their presidential bet.
Aquino’s faction retaliated by ousting Angara as party president. Both factions are claiming legitimacy and have asked the Comelec to settle the dispute.
Aquino said under a Comelec circular, only a party president, chairman or secretary general can endorse the party’s candidate.
In the LDP’s case, the secretary general made the endorsements in the past two elections, Aquino said.
"They (Angara’s faction) will do a lot of explaining if the secretary general will not be making the endorsement this time," Aquino said.
Lacson registered with the Comelec as a candidate in the presidential race yesterday, formalizing his bid.
Poe, meanwhile, is expected to sign up shortly before the Jan. 5 deadline, his self-proclaimed spokesman, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, said.
Muntilupa Rep. Rufino Biazon, who left the LDP along with Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra because of the infighting two weeks ago, said his former party is headed for disintegration unless the bickering stops.
"It’s from an accident and en route to the intensive care unit," Biazon told The STAR.
Biazon and Mitra have joined the Liberal Party, after accusing Angara of railroading Poe’s candidacy.
Lacson had met with Poe to try to avoid splitting the anti-Arroyo vote. Opposition leaders believe they would not stand a chance against Mrs. Arroyo unless they agree on a common candidate.
It was earlier reported that Poe and Lacson agreed to submit themselves to a selection process. But the agreement fell through when both said they would not withdraw from the presidential race.
Angara’s rivals accuse him of being an "agent" of the Arroyo administration out to undermine the opposition.
A high school dropout, Poe is seen as Mrs. Arroyo’s strongest competitor for the presidency because of his iconic popularity.
However, his lack of experience of holding public office has rattled the country’s financial market and caused concern in the business community at a time when the Philippines is trying to put its struggling economy back on its feet. — With Jose Rodel Clapano, Paolo Romero