Justice Carpio’s dissent

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said, in his 55-page dissenting opinion, that there was no majority ruling on Senator Grace Poe’s qualification as a natural born citizen because the Supreme Court’s (SC) voting on the issue of citizenship was 7-5-3.

“What is clear and undeniable is that there is no majority of this Court that holds that petitioner Mary Grace Natividad Poe-Llamanzares is a natural-born Filipino citizen,” Carpio declared.

“For a case whose 15 Justices voted, at least eight votes are needed to achieve a majority ruling,” Carpio added.

Carpio said that only seven of the nine Justices in the majority ruling were of the opinion that foundlings, like Poe, are considered natural-born citizens.

Two other Justices, Diosdado Peralta and Benjamin Caguioa, joined the separate dissenting opinion of Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo that the SC should not rule on the citizenship issue in this case.

With a motion for reconsideration, filed by the petitioners, the SC should clarify whether a majority of eight is required to support a ruling.

In allowing to include patently ineligible candidates, Carpio said the majority ruling provided an “anomalous situation” beyond the intent of framers of the Constitution, constituting a mockery of the election process. He also stressed the electorate has been misled to cast their votes, and thus waste their votes, for an illegible candidate, citing Section 69 of the Omnibus Election code that any person, who is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, running for president is obviously a nuisance candidate.

No right to stop bank manager

Senator Koko Pimentel, chairman of the Senate committee on justice, said the government has no right to stop Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) bank manager Maia Santos Deguito from traveling because there was no hold departure order or warrant of arrest.

But Senator Sergio Osmeña III took the opposite view and said the alleged laundering of $81 million, through Philrem Service Corp., is a continuing crime justifies the Bureau of Immigration decision to stop Deguito from leaving the country.

In a radio interview, Deguito said she was not fleeing the country but only traveling to Tokyo to take their 10-year-old son to Disneyland as a birthday and Lenten gift.

Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer of Deguito, vowed to pursue appropriate charges against government agencies and officials, including Bureau of Immigration, the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Human Rights, the Supreme Court (for contempt and disbarment), responsible for the allegedly illegal action.

The Senate committee on banks and the Blue Ribbon Committee will hold an investigation today.

To clear her name, Deguito is ready to bare everything she knows about the controversy, but she has denied responsibility, saying that the $81 million was only credited to her branch by the RCBC head office.

Businessman William Go, one of the six businessmen dragged into the laundering scheme that involved four banks and casinos in Manila, would attend the investigation to prove his innocence. The other six bank account holders, identified as Michael Cruz, Jessie Lagrosas, Alfred Vergara, Enrico Vasquez and Kam Sin Wong (Kim Wong), were also invited by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

To shed light on reports that the casinos were used in the money laundering activities, the committee also invited Cristino Naguiat Jr., chairman and CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

Comelec considering manual polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday it would initiate preparations for a resort to manual voting.

In a four-page resolution, the Comelec said it will prepare a contingency Project of Precincts (POP), with a cluster of 400 voters each, in the event that it would have to undertake manual polls to ensure that the elections push through on May 9.

Chairman Andres Bautista also said the other option is to postpone the polls to a date before June 30.

Citing complications in the printing of voter receipts, Commissioner Arthur Lim said it would be better to postpone the elections, as a half-baked election is a prescription for total chaos.

Gatchalian moving up

Congressman Sherwin Gatchalian has moved up to 10th place in the latest Pulse Asia survey on Senators, up from No. 22 in earlier surveys.

Seven party-list groups, under the Makabayan Coalition, has endorsed Win Gatchalian’s senatorial bid. The party-list groups cited Gatchalian’s advocacy for free college education, protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and support to farmers and senior citizens.

He is also calling for free irrigation fees and increased support for farmers.

Gachalian has served for three terms as Mayor of Valenzuela City.

As Mayor of Valenzuela, he built 2,000 classrooms. The City bagged the number one spot in the National Achievement Test (NAT) for elementary education, for school years 2009-2011.

Gatchalian is running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and the ticket of Senator Grace Poe.