Poe bracing for plot to exclude name in ballot

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of Sen. Grace Poe is bracing for what it calls a plot to spoil her presidential bid by excluding her name from the ballots for next year’s general elections.

Poe’s legal counsel George Garcia revealed that part of the alleged plot is a disqualification case to be filed after the presidential frontrunner files her certificate of candidacy next week.

Garcia said more hurdles on Poe’s road to the presidency are expected as the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) continues its deliberation on a disqualification case filed by Rizalito David, contesting the senator’s eligibility as a natural-born Filipino citizen.

“The attacks against Sen. Grace Poe won’t stop at the SET,” he told reporters at the Supreme Court (SC).

“Our reading is that in the end, what they want is to exclude the name of Sen. Grace Poe in the ballot because if it’s included, that would really be a problem for our opponents,” he said without naming names.

Under the rules, a petition seeking the cancellation of a COC may be filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) within 25 days from the filing of the COC.

The deadline for the printing of ballots is on April 20 next year.

Garcia admitted the issues hurled against Poe would make her campaign more difficult.

“She will have to explain to the people: ‘I’m not disqualified. I’m a natural-born Filipino citizen. I am a resident of this country.’ That will always be part of your speech. That will always be part of her explanation to the Filipino people,” he said.

But he said they are confident Poe would be able to get favorable rulings from the SET, the Comelec and the Supreme Court, before the elections.

“The Filipino people deserve to know the truth. The Filipino people deserve to elect a leader suffering from no disqualification, with no baggage, so to speak,” Garcia said.

Garcia said they look forward to seeing SET resolve by early November the disqualification case filed by David. He said this would allow the lawmaker to focus on the more important aspects of her campaign, particularly her platform of government.

He said there is no doubt that Poe is a natural-born Filipino citizen and that she is qualified to sit as senator and run for president next year.

In the SET case against Poe, her being a foundling has been cited as proof that she is not a natural born Filipino, and thus should be barred from sitting as senator.

The 1987 Constitution provides that only natural-born Filipino citizens are qualified to run for president, vice-president, senator and congressman.

Poe, currently the frontrunner in various presidential preference surveys, is scheduled to file her COC next week, alongside her running mate, Sen. Francis Escudero.