Let’s cut to the chase

With Mayor Rodrigo Duterte finally declaring his intention to run for president in 2016 – after much hemming and hawing combined with drama and suspense – the Commission on Elections finds itself faced yet again with the burden of reviewing disqualification cases against Duterte. Comelec said that it expects to come out with a final list of candidates by Dec. 15, with the presumption that all the disqualification cases would have been decided upon by then, on whether such and such candidate is eligible to run or not.

Duterte is faced with the prospect of disqualification due to technicalities – among them the fact that the certificate of candidacy filed by Duterte’s PDP-Laban party mate Martin Diño showed that the latter was running for Pasay City mayor – not president. Several election law experts said this could prove to be problematic for Duterte as it rendered the COC “defective” – with no less than Comelec chairman Andy Bautista also having said earlier that it may not be possible for the PDP-Laban to field Duterte through substitution (since Diño’s COC was for Pasay City mayor, not president).

Diño said his COC had a “clerical error” made by the PDP-Laban headquarters but insisted that Comelec virtually recognized his candidacy when it sent him a letter asking for a justification of his candidacy for president. However, Comelec chair Bautista said Diño’s COC would determine the position for which a substitute candidate may be nominated – which could mean any substitution could be for the position of Pasay City mayor, not president.

One option however is for Duterte to run as a substitute under another political party – like the recently accredited Filipino Family Party of former ambassador and now party-list Congressman Roy Señeres who initially stated he will not give way to Duterte, but is now saying he “might” consider a substitution provided that the Davao mayor agreed to three conditions: take back the statements he issued against Grace Poe, swear to be pro-life rather than pro-death, and take up the cudgels for overseas Filipinos workers.

Grace Poe, who has consistently been the frontrunner in national surveys, is also facing a disqualification case filed before the Comelec by a losing senatorial candidate. Much earlier, the Senate Electoral Tribunal had ruled in favor of the lady senator on the disqualification case filed by the same individual. Anti-Poe quarters assailed the SET ruling and called it a “political decision” (since the five who voted in her favor were all senators), but a lot of people however give Senator Bam Aquino a lot of credit for making a “principled vote” despite being the campaign manager of the Liberal Party. Bam explained that the burden of proof in showing that Senator Grace Poe is not a natural born citizen should fall on the petitioner. Unless the complainant shows convincing evidence that Poe’s parents are not Filipino citizens, then the presumption of regularity should be observed, Senator Bam Aquino said. This runs along the same lines as the long-held legal dictum that anyone accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

A motion for reconsideration however was filed by the complainant, and the SET has given the camp of Senator Poe until Dec. 1 to comment on the motion, while the Comelec has yet to decide on the case filed against Duterte.

Let’s just cut to the chase – the Comelec, the SET and ultimately the Supreme Court should decide quickly and firmly. Let’s face it, Filipinos are getting tired of this uncertainty hovering above the elections. The frustration and anger at the thought that endless cases could be filed by certain quarters for no reason other than to derail the chances of perceived frontrunners in the race is already getting stronger. Let’s not make a mockery of this very important exercise. We are already playing with the lives of more than a hundred million Filipinos whose future will be determined by whoever will be the next leader of this country.

Grace Poe’s supporters are also getting angry and frustrated because they see their presidentiable as the main target – saying the male candidates are all “ganging up on her.” Now they are threatening to field Susan Roces should the Comelec or the SET or SC disqualify their presidential candidate. Believe it or not, Susan Roces may actually win.

Keeping the voters hanging in suspense is totally unfair. They want to know as early as now who their choices are and what they stand for. Aside from Poe and Duterte, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s candidacy is also facing uncertainty because everything is being thrown against him – with accusations of plunder, graft and corruption and heaven knows what else they have planned out against him. This might derail his candidacy in the middle of the race – which might mean a substitution as well. On the other hand, people are also questioning Miriam’s health condition.

It looks like only LP candidate Mar Roxas may have a clear run at this point. Our inside pollster tells us that the entry of Duterte actually gives Mar more chances of winning because it could split the votes three ways for the masses who are looking at Poe, Binay and Duterte. Clearly, the LP has a well-oiled machinery that reaches down to the grassroots, plus the fact that it has a massive war chest that no other political party can match.

They say Mar also has been very clear and unequivocal about his platform – publicly declaring that he will continue the “matuwid na daan” started by President Aquino – which simply means that those who are happy with the present dispensation, need only to vote for Mar Roxas.

* * *

Email: [email protected]