Mar on Grace: Nobody wants a foreigner for president

MANILA, Philippines – Nobody wants a foreigner for president.

Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II gave this reply when asked if he agreed with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s reason for seeking the presidency.

“Without any specificity, all of us do not want a foreigner to become the president, right?” Roxas told reporters on Monday.

Duterte said he decided to run for president because he was disappointed with the dismissal of the disqualification case against Sen. Grace Poe by the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET).

Voting 5-4, the SET junked the petition of losing senatorial candidate Rizalito David to remove Poe from office over her citizenship. David said Poe is not a natural-born Filipino.

Poe, who became a naturalized US citizen in 2001, renounced her American citizenship in 2010. Her critics said she could not also claim to be a natural-born citizen because she was a foundling.

Duterte said he could not accept an American president, adding he would not mind if he loses, for as long as the winner is a Filipino.

Roxas, however, refused to comment on whether Poe’s citizenship would cause her trouble if David elevates his petition to the Supreme Court.

“Regardless of whether the case against Sen. Poe wins or loses at the SET, we at the (Koalisyon ng) Daang Matuwid, Leni (Robredo) and I are focused on presenting our platform, our character and our capabilities to our countrymen,” he said.

“I’m not the one with the legal problem. I think the ones with the legal problems should be the ones to respond to these questions about the legality of their status,” he added.

No change of heart

SET members Sens. Cynthia Villar and Vicente Sotto III said they would not change their votes.

“I don’t think so… we thought about our votes. Most likely, the outcome will be the same,” Villar said.

The senator said any change in the votes, if ever there would be any, would come from the high tribunal. “Maybe there, but not us… you have to go through the process of filing a motion for reconsideration to be able to appeal before the Supreme Court,” she said.

Villar cited her advocacy to protect the rights of children in voting in favor of Poe. – With Christina Mendez