Grace tormentor declared nuisance

MANILA, Philippines - The Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday declared Ang Kapatiran Party presidential bet Rizalito David as a nuisance candidate and cancelled his certificate of candidacy (COC).

David is the petitioner in the case seeking the disqualification of independent presidential candidate Grace Poe as a senator.

Asked for comment on David’s disqualification from the 2016 race, Poe merely texted a “smiley” icon.

David lamented that the Comelec had made money a requirement for a presidential bid.

In a six-page resolution, Second Division Commissioners Al Parreño, Arthur Lim and Sheriff Abas upheld the motu proprio petition for disqualification filed by the poll body’s Law Department, saying that it was “meritorious.”

The Second Division invoked a Supreme Court ruling in the Timbol versus Comelec case, which cited a constitutional provision that “the state shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service” but this “does not guarantee a constitutional right to run for or hold public office.”

The Comelec’s Law Department filed the petition on Oct. 21, saying David has no bona fide intention to run for public office.

David was said to have misrepresented himself to be officially nominated by Kapatiran Party, “when in truth and in fact, Kapatiran Party, through its president Norman Cabrera, informed this department on Oct. 13, 2015 that said party is not fielding candidates in the 2016 elections.”

The Law Department said David listed his occupation as a broadcaster and while it is a noble way to earn a living, there was “an absence of a clear proof of his financial capability” to sustain a national campaign.

“It is clear that respondent has no bona fide intention to run for the office he seeks to be elected to... while respondent submitted copies of the endorsements and names of individuals, organizations in support of the presidential bid of the respondent, the same fail to persuade this commission,” the resolution said.

David said he has yet to read a copy of the Comelec ruling.

“I am disappointed if that is true,” David said in a text message when asked for his reaction over the ruling.

“The Comelec with blanket application has added another requirement for those who wish to run for public office – money. One’s right to serve in an elective post is now subject to whether one has the money to squander in an election. Whatever happened to our constitutional rights when even just a mere capricious election body can violate it with impunity and absent prudence and justice,” David later posted on his Facebook account.

David, who lost in the 2013 senatorial elections, said he might file a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec then go to the Supreme Court.

David had set in motion the efforts to disqualify Poe in the presidential race.

David filed a protest before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) seeking to unseat Poe, claiming she is not a natural-born Filipino.

The SET, however, dismissed his petition and reaffirmed its earlier decision that Poe is a natural-born Filipino.

It was ironic, however, that the Comelec’s Second Division was the same body that ruled against Poe.

The division granted the petition filed by former Government Service Insurance System chief legal counsel Estrella Elamparo seeking to disqualify Poe for lack of residency.

The same division ruled the COC filed by Poe “contains material representations which are false, hence, it should be denied due course and cancelled.”

Poe has filed a motion for reconsideration over the decision, appealing the ruling before the full Comelec.

At stake

Sen. Francis Escudero, for his part, said he is optimistic that the Comelec will give credence to the arguments of Poe.

Escudero said he is hopeful that the poll body in full session will thoroughly review the motion for reconsideration and ultimately reverse its ruling against his independent presidential running mate.

According to Escudero, the 63-page motion submitted to the poll body contains pertinent evidence that will prove that Poe is qualified to run for president.

“I just hope they will decide on the merits of this case because what is at stake here is the impartiality, integrity and credibility of the Comelec,” he said.

Poe’s legal counsel George Garcia said the three-member Second Division committed grave abuse of discretion when it sought to disqualify the senator from the presidential race on grounds that she allegedly misrepresented the number of years she has been residing in the country.

Escudero said their camp will seek relief from the Supreme Court should the Comelec uphold the ruling of its second division.

More than a resident

Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian said Poe has surpassed the 10-year residency requirement under the Constitution for a presidential candidate.

“The residency issue is simple arithmetic. One need not be a lawyer to see that Sen. Grace Poe has exceeded the required 10-year residency,” he said.

Gatchalian disagreed with the ruling of the Comelec’s second division that Poe is not qualified under the residency requirement.

“I may not be a lawyer, but I know how to count. Based on the ten-year residency requirement, a presidential candidate must have resided in the country for at least 10 years prior to election day, which is May 9, 2016. Therefore, the threshold date is May 8, 2006. The relevant question now is, did Sen. Grace do anything prior to May 8, 2006 to show that she intended to permanently reside in the country? The facts resoundingly say yes,” he said.

“First, Senator Grace resigned from her job in the US in 2004. Second, in early 2005, she informed her children’s schools in the US that they would no longer be studying there, and in June 2005 she enrolled them in schools here,” Gatchalian said.

He added that in the latter half of 2005, Poe and her husband bought a condo unit in San Juan, followed later by the acquisition of a lot in early 2006. – Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz, Robertzon Ramirez, Paolo Romero