Third disqualification case filed vs Grace

MANILA, Philippines - A political science professor yesterday filed the third disqualification case against presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe.

Antonio Contreras of the De La Salle University asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to cancel Poe’s certificate of candidacy (COC), saying she lacks the 10-year minimum residency required by law and the Constitution.

Contreras said Poe was “still not a legal resident” of the Philippines on May 9, 2006.

If Poe renounced her Filipino citizenship on Oct. 18, 2001 when she became an American citizen, she must have reacquired her domicile status in the country on May 9, 2006 in order to qualify for the 2016 presidential race, Contreras’ petition stated.

“As documents will show, she only reacquired her Filipino citizenship on July 18, 2006 when her petition to reacquire her Philippine citizenship was approved by the Bureau of Immigration,” it added.

Contreras said Poe’s “physical presence” in the country before she reacquired her Filipino citizenship could not be a valid evidence of the reacquisition of her Philippine domicile.

“As an American citizen at the time, she can only live in the country as a foreign national by our immigration laws,” the petition read.

In an interview, Contreras said he filed the disqualification case amid accusations by Poe’s camp that those behind earlier petitions were “paid or with evil plots.”

“The university has nothing to do with this… I realized it’s about time we tell these people that ordinary citizens like me… we are not sinister,” he said, adding he paid the P10,100 filing fee.

Contreras said he decided not to touch on Poe’s citizenship, which boils down to her being a foundling and a child abandoned by her biological parents.   

“I don’t want to be an instrument where she would be abandoned once again, where she will be in a situation where she would be stateless. That is too cruel to apply to a person who had been abandoned when she was child,” he said.

Contreras said the residency issue against Poe is “mathematical” and pertains only to her domicile in a certain place.  

Last Friday, former Government Service and Insurance System chief legal counsel Estrella Elamparo filed a petition seeking the cancellation of Poe’s COC, while former senator Francisco Tatad lodged a petition for disqualification.   

Both petitions said Poe does not meet the requirements on residency and citizenship to run for president.  

Grace resorts to prayers

Poe has turned to prayer as she faces the disqualification cases filed against her before the Comelec.

Poe is hopeful that the tide will eventually go her way because she believes she has met the requirements prescribed for presidential candidates.

In a text message, Poe yesterday said she believes she is qualified to run because she is a natural-born citizen and has met the minimum residency requirement.

The senator also appealed to her detractors for a fair chance, adding that the Filipino people should be given the chance to choose their leader.

Poe’s camp believes the legal moves are aimed at derailing her presidential bid.

She said she expects all the three disqualification cases against her will be dismissed for lack of merit.

Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, also dismissed the third case against Poe as another attempt to mock the electoral process.

Poe’s ratings in presidential surveys have remained high amid questions on her citizenship.

Black propaganda

At the House of Representatives, allies of Poe said the successive disqualification cases filed against her were obviously part of a campaign to weaken her presidential bid by creating doubt in the minds of voters on her citizenship.

Reps. Sherwin Gatchalian of Valenzuela City and Roman Romulo of Pasig City, who are both running for senator under Poe’s ticket, said they believe voters can easily see through the smear campaign disguised as a legal issue.

“These cases are part of a political strategy to file cases against an opponent to undermine her – even if it’s the same cases filed over and over again – we’ve entered a political period so we expected that,” Gatchalian said.

Romulo said he respects the intention of those who filed the disqualification case but appealed to political opponents not to muddle the issue.

No hand

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay denied having a hand in the filing of Tatad of a disqualification case against Poe.

“I have nothing to do with it. He is smarter than me,” Binay told reporters in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija yesterday.

The city was one of the areas severely affected by Tropical Storm Lando.

“Kit Tatad is my friend. But I think he knows what he’s doing,” he said.

Merit seen in DQ cases

Legal experts, on the other hand, yesterday supported the recent petitions seeking the disqualification of Poe in next year’s presidential polls.

Former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez and litigation expert Raymond Fortun said the disqualification cases filed by Tatad and Elamparo will settle the eligibility of Poe for the presidency.

Valdez and Fortun agreed with petitioners that Poe is not qualified for the presidency because she is not a natural-born Filipino and has not yet met the 10-year residency requirement under the law. – With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Helen Flores