Poe camp to appeal disqualification from 2016 race

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Grace Poe’s camp said they are confident of the integrity of the Commission on Elections en banc in reversing the ruling of the poll body's Second Division which earlier canceled her candidacy.

"I have faith in the process, and we are confident that the Comelec en banc will side with the interest of the people," Poe said in a statement.

The presidential aspirant said her critics will use any excuse to exclude her from the 2016 race, and that they show a lack of trust in the ability of Filipinos to make the right decision," Poe said.

Poe’s spokesperson, Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, said they respect the decision of Comelec’s Second Division but said they will go to the Comelec en banc to appeal the case of Poe.

“Nirerespeto natin ang proseso pero may mga legal remedies pa na pwedeng tahakin...We will exhaust all of those,” Gatchalian said. “We have confidence in the integrity of en banc. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he added.

He stressed that there are seven commissioners in the en banc while the Second Division only has three. The Second Division is presided by Commissioner Al Parreno, with Commissioners Arthur Lim and Sheriff Abas.

“There are seven commissioners and collectively we hope that majority of those will see the merits of our position,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said he has not yet secured a copy of the 34-page ruling on lawyer Estrella Elamparo’s petition but he said the case decided over Poe’s residency and citizenship. He maintained that Poe is a natural-born Filipino and has met the required residency.

“Our camp believes she is a natural-born Filipino. She has evidence... They are saying that based on her earlier Certificate of Candidacy as a senator that she did not meet the necessary residency but she was domiciled since 2005 until now,” Gatchalian said, arguing that Poe’s residency is more than sufficient.

Gatchalian also clarified that the Comelec should rule on fact and not on the information written on the certificate of candidacy. He also cited that the Senate Electoral Tribunal has ruled that Poe’s status is a natural-born Filipino.