Campaign backers standing by me – Poe

MANILA, Philippines – Even with all the legal issues surrounding her bid to become president, Sen. Grace Poe said her supporters stand by her.

At a press conference held in Pagadian City yesterday, Poe said that the same people who backed her father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. when he ran for president in 2004, are also behind her now.

“The people who have been helping me in the past continue to support me. Many of them supported my father and the support isn’t just financial. They are there and we thank them all for their continued trust that I will attain justice,” Poe said.

After winning her disqualification case before the Senate Electoral Tribunal, Poe suffered a setback at the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which disqualified her as a presidential candidate.

Poe has brought her case before the Supreme Court (SC) and has managed to secure a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of the ruling of the Comelec.

According to Poe, the Comelec ignored the evidence that her camp presented to support her claims of being a natural-born Filipino and her fulfillment of the residency requirement for presidential candidates.

She also recalled the questionable timing in the ruling of the Comelec on her cases, which came out a day before all government offices closed for the Christmas break.

“Nevertheless, the Supreme Court saw it fit to issue that even though they were open for a day only at the time. So for me it was significant for them to say that we have legal basis in this case,” Poe said.

Apart from the evidence presented by Poe, she is also in the process of testing DNA samples from possible relatives in Guimaras.

Poe said that the results should be out in two to three weeks and if they are positive, then all questions about her citizenship would automatically be resolved.

However, Poe said that she is treating this as more of a bonus only if it works out for her because she believes the evidence she presented to the court supports her position.

‘Junk Poe appeal’

Meanwhile, another petitioner in the disqualification cases against Poe has supported Comelec in seeking the dismissal of her appeal before the SC.

Estrella Elamparo, former counsel of the Government Service Insurance System, also asked the high court to lift the TRO it issued last Dec. 28 enjoining the Comelec decision that granted her disqualification petition against Poe.

In her 90-page comment filed yesterday, Elamparo urged the SC not to consider Poe’s popularity as shown in surveys.

The lawyer argued that the Comelec was correct in its findings that Poe misrepresented her eligibility for the presidency in the certificate of candidacy (COC) she filed last October. – With Edu Punay, Mayen Jaymalin, Ding Cervantes