IN our radio program “Frankahay Ta” over dyCM (1152AM) with “Torni” Frank, I repeatedly said that Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares would be disqualified from running for president because she lacks the 10-year residence requirement.
The decision of the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) Second Division cancelling Poe's certificate of candidacy (COC) for president in next year’s polls was not a shocker anymore. Rather it was expected.
The Comelec’s Second Division acted on the petition of Atty. Estrella Elamparo for the cancelation of Poe’s COC because it contains material representations that are false. In her COC, Poe declared she is a natural-born Filipino and resident for 10 years and 11 months before Election Day.
Elamparo, in her petition, alleged that the residence status of Senator Poe-Llamanzares should be reckoned from the date she took her oath sometime on July 7, 2006 re-acquiring her Filipino citizenship. The lady senator could only attain the 10 years residency in July 2016.
But the Comelec’s Second Division discovered that when Poe ran for senator and won in the 2013 polls she stated in her COC that she was a resident starting November 2006. So, Poe has resided in the country for nine years and six months only before the May 9, 2016 polls.
Poe is six months short of the the 10-year residence requirement under the Constitution. Her statement in her 2013 COC for senator is a declaration against her personal interest and she is bound by it.
The Comelec did not buy the “honest mistake” defense of Poe-Llamanzares on the entries in her COC on the number of years she resided in the country.
If they would allow Poe to do so, the Comelec said, "they will be opening the floodgates for candidates to commit material representations in their COCs and escape responsibility by conveniently changing their story in a subsequent COC."
Contrary to the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), the Comelec said Poe is not a natural-born Filipino. Her representation in her COC that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen is false. A foundling is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, the Comelec ruled.
The Second Division that signed the decision on the cancellation of Poe’s COC is composed of Commissioners Al Parreño, Arthur Lim and Sheriff Abas.
Sen. Chiz Escudero, Poe’s running mate for vice president, must have been shocked by the Comelec’s decision that he was noticeably mum for a while.
Conversely, Sen. Alan Cayetano zealously defended his presidential bet Davao City Mayor Digong Duterte from criticisms when the latter uttered expletives against Pope Francis during his visit in Manila that caused traffic gridlocks.
With the cancelation of Poe’s COC, although not yet final, that would leave us with four candidates for president in the May 9, 2016 polls. But it should not be overlooked that there is a pending petition to declare null and void the COC of Martin Diño as candidate for president of PDP-Laban.
Mayor Duterte substituted Diño, who withdrew as candidate for president because he was included in the Comelec’s list of nuisance candidates. Duterte filed his COC on Nov. 27, 2015.
Diño submitted a COC for president but indicated he is running for Pasay City mayor when he is a resident of Quezon City.
If Comelec would grant the petition to declare void the COC of Diño, naturally, Duterte’s substitution of Diño is also invalid. Duterte even said he will abide by the Comelec’s ruling on his substitution of Diño.
I refused to believe though that the petition that Ruben Castor filed--hours after Duterte filed his COC with the Comelec--to declare Diño’s COC null and void for being legally inexistent is part of Duterte’s script.
Mind you, next year’s political battle would be bland if the Comelec would invalidate Duterte’s COC. The presidential race then would be among Liberal Party’s standard bearer Mar Roxas, Sen. Miriam Santiago, and Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay of UNA.
It would, however, be good for the electorate if there are only three or two choices for president in the May 9, 2016 elections. There would be less confusion and we will have a popular president.