SC justice urged to inhibit self from son’s poll protest

MANILA, Philippines - Marinduque Rep. Gina Reyes has asked Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco to inhibit himself from the electoral protest of his son which is now under the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).

Velasco, who chairs the HRET, is the father of Lord Allan Velasco, who filed an electoral protest against Reyes following the May 13 congressional race in Marinduque.

Reyes expressed fear that she would not get a fair decision from Justice Velasco who might decide in favor of his son.

She said she is now putting her hope on the six House representatives in the HRET to get a fair treatment in the case.

The electoral protest stemmed from the disqualification case filed against Reyes by a certain Joseph Socorro Tan alleging that she is an American citizen.

Reyes denied Tan’s accusations, saying she has strong evidence to prove that she is a natural born citizen with Filipino parentage and that she renounced her foreign citizenship on Sept. 21, 2012.

She added that she and her lawyers and supporters were wondering why the Commission on Elections and the SC did not give her a chance to present these pieces of evidence.

Reyes said she won the Marinduque congressional race by 3,800 votes against Velasco.