GRACE POE CAN RUN

File Photo by MGP

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday allowed Sen. Grace Poe to run for president in the May 9 elections.

Voting 9-6 in full session, the court granted Poe’s petitions seeking to overturn the decisions of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualifying her from the presidential election for material misrepresentation on her citizenship and residency eligibilities.

The majority agreed that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in disqualifying Poe from the race.

“The SC grants Senator Poe’s petitions, allowing her to run for the presidency,” SC spokesman Theodore Te said.

But Te could not say if the decision covers both the citizenship and residency issues.

The ruling is not yet final and is subject to a motion for reconsideration, which should be filed within 15 days.

Those who voted in favor of Poe were Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardeleza and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

The six who voted to deny Poe’s petition were Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Mariano del Castillo, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Bienvenido Reyes.

Perez wrote the ruling, which has not been released pending signature of all justices, with four concurring opinions from other justices.

Te did not explain the grounds used by the SC since the main decision was not yet available.

The SC dismissed the Comelec’s First Division ruling, which canceled Poe’s certificate of candidacy due to questions on her citizenship and residency eligibility. The petitioners, former senator Francisco Tatad, De La Salle University law professor Antonio Contreras and former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez, raised these grounds.

The ruling makes permanent the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the high court last December against the Comelec disqualification on the first-term senator.

The high court struck down the poll body’s Second Division ruling, which canceled Poe’s certificate of candidacy (COC) based on the petition filed by Estrella Elamparo, former Government Service Insurance System lawyer.

Elamparo claimed Poe failed to meet the constitutional requirement of a 10-year residency for presidential candidates.

In her petition, Poe argued Comelec evaded its positive duty under the law, and utterly disregarded its own rules of procedure and settled jurisprudence, when it refused to dismiss outright the petitions led by Tatad despite the absence of a cause of action and did not cite applicable grounds under the Omnibus Election Code.

Poe said Comelec disregarded the Nov. 17, 2015 decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal dismissing the disqualification case against her on questionable citizenship status.

Poe also accused Comelec of disregarding basic international law provisions on citizenship as well as applicable international human rights instruments ratified by the Philippines that created an affirmative obligation to consider foundlings as natural-born citizens.

She also insisted that she committed a mistake in her COC in good faith, saying she did not intend to mislead or deceive when she stated that her period of residence up to the day before election day 2016 would be 10 years and 11 months.

Correct and just
Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, who represented Poe instead of defending the Comelec in this case, welcomed the SC ruling.

“The Court did the right thing, the result is both legally correct and just. The decision will be a legacy of the court’s solicitous regard for marginalized groups and OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” Hilbay said.

Poe, for her part, described the SC ruling as “a victory for truth, justice and for the oppressed.”

Poe said she learned of the SC ruling while on her way to attend the International Women’s Day celebration at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

Poe said that her vehicle was near Quiapo Church at that time and so she decided to get off and say a prayer of thanks.

“It was as if I was being told to get down and give thanks (to God),” Poe said.

“I also wish to thank the Supreme Court for recognizing the truth, justice and above all, the protection of the oppressed,” she added.

In her speech at the event, Poe said the timing of the SC ruling seemed to be influenced by divine intervention.

“I supposed that God wanted me to receive the news on this day. We all know that in our country, while there are opportunities and wealth, these are not experienced by many and these people are left behind,” she said.

Poe’s camp described the ruling as a victory for democracy.

“This decision is a victory not only for Senator Poe but for all the foundlings in our country as well as a victory for our democracy. This decision truly shows that our country’s laws protect all but most especially those who are downtrodden,” Poe’s spokesman Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian said.

“Furthermore, this decision is a victory for our democracy because now our voters will truly have a fair elections where they will be allowed to choose from a complete list of candidates,” he added.

Poe’s running mate, Sen. Francis Escudero, said he is happy that justice prevailed.

“The Supreme Court once again sided with the rule of law in upholding the petition of Sen. Grace to reverse the partisan, biased and unfounded decision of the Commission on Elections disqualifying her from the presidential race,” he said.

Escudero said the SC decision dispelled rumors that some quarters tried to bribe some justices with P50 million each to vote against Poe. Malacañang, on the other hand, denied the insinuations, saying these were speculative.

Escudero added the SC decision is not only a victory for Poe but also for other foundlings.

While the other parties may file a motion for reconsideration, Escudero said it is hard to overturn the decision of nine justices as against the six others.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the poll body did its job in the disqualification case against Poe.

Bautista said the Comelec would respect the ruling.

“The Supreme Court, since it has ruled on the matter, we have to respect it,” he said.

Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim congratulated Poe, but expressed hope that the decision of the high court will not derail the rule of law.

He said Comelec would meet and decide whether to file a motion for reconsideration on the SC ruling.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the Supreme Court ruling on Poe’s disqualification showed that the court has compassion and care for foundlings.

“Indeed, if the SC could be compassionate in rendering justice to an erring judge, then with more compassion should justice be rendered in favor of foundlings seeking to be recognized as a citizen of the country and not to be treated as a ‘stateless’ individual in the country where he or she was found,” Macalintal said.

‘A dangerous result’
The petitioners Tatad, Elamparo, Contreras and Valdez, on the other hand, said they were caught unprepared by the SC ruling.

Tatad’s lawyer Manuelito Luna said they would appeal the SC decision, which he described as a “dangerous result.”

“A perfect recipe for chaos. The Constitution was bastardized. The people will never accept it. We will file a motion for reconsideration as soon as it becomes official,” he said.

Elamparo shared this opinion. “Although I’ve been hearing about this scenario, I am still shocked because the law is so clear. I cannot comment beyond that because I have not read the decision,” she stressed.

Contreras believes the decision was a loss for the rule of law.

“I will try to respect the decision that I vehemently reject. Nine members of the Court decided to reverse the well-established jurisprudence on residence. I pity those who were disqualified earlier who were similarly situated as her. It is surely one of the lowest point in the history of our country,” he said.

Valdez, for his part, alleged the justices in the majority ruling have committed an impeachable offense with their decision.

The high court heard the oral arguments from both parties from Jan. 19 to Feb. 16, on five consecutive Tuesdays.

Poe fought hard in the disqualification cases against her before it reached the Supreme Court.

In November 2015, the SET voted 5-4 to deny the petition to disqualify Poe from the Senate.

A month later, the Comelec in full session disqualified Poe from the presidential race.

The Comelec voted separately on the two cases involving the Poe’s citizenship and residency requirements.

The First Division handled the citizenship issue while the Second Division tackled residency. Both divisions of the Comelec previously ruled againsto Poe. Philstar

SC strikes down Poe disqualification

The Supreme Court (SC) has reversed the disqualification of Sen. Grace Poe from the May presidential elections.

The tribunal sitting en banc voted 9-6, granting Poe's petitions against the Commission on Elections (comelec) decisions last December cancelling her certificate of candidacy (COC) for president.

Those who voted in favor of Poe's petitions were:
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno
Justice Presbiterio Velasco
Justice Diosdao Peralta
Justice Lucas Bersamin
Justice Jose Perez
Justice Jose Mendoza
Justice Marvic Leonen
Justice Francis Jardeleza
Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa

Against the petitions were:

Justice Antonio Carpio
Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro
Justice Mariano Del Castillo
Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe
Justice Bienvenido Reyes
Justice Arturo Brion
SC spokesperson Theodore Te said the high court will release copies of the decision and separate opinions of the justices "in the next few days."

"As you may understand, upon the voting the Court will then finalize who will write for the Court," said Te.

"That matter has not yet been decided, and once the ponente has been decided, the text of the decision will follow," he added.

Poe surprised

Poe expressed surprise and gratitude over the decision.

At the sidelines of the International Women's Day celebration at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, Poe admitted she was taken aback when she heard that the high court voted 9-6 to reverse her disqualification by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"Nagulat ako. Akala ko out [na ako]," she told reporters after giving a speech.

When it was pointed out that she appeared confident about a favorable decision from the Supreme Court a day ago, Poe said: "But that's me. I care about running, I care about the privilege to serve, but I am not obsessed about the position. So I was ready to accept whatever the decision was."

Minutes earlier, the senator thanked the Supreme Court and the Filipino people for siding with her.

The petitions filed by Poe were submitted for resolution last week after parties in the case — Poe, the Comelec, and the private complainants — as well as the Office of the Solicitor General submitted their respective memoranda, which contained reiterations of and clarifications to their positions on the matter.

The SC concluded its five-round oral arguments on Poe's petitions last February 16, as Sereno gave the parties five days or until February 22 to submit their memoranda, before the case is deemed submitted for resolution.

Those who submitted their memoranda were Poe, the Comelec, and the Office of the Solicitor General acting as "tribune of the people," and private complainants against Poe including former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez, De La Salle University political science professor Antonio Contreras, lawyer Estrella Elamparo, and former senator Francisco Tatad.

Shocked by result

Two of the private petitioners against Poe expressed shock about the result.

Lawyer Manuelito Luna, counsel for Tatad, described the SC decision as a "dangerous result."

"A perfect recipe for chaos. The Constitution was bastardized. The people will never accept it. We will file a motion for reconsideration as soon as it becomes official," he said.

Elamparo echoed this though.

"Although I've been hearing about this scenario, I am still shocked because the law is so clear. I cannot comment beyond that because I have not read the Decision," she said.

Contreras, for his part, said the decision was a loss for the rule of law.

"I will try to respect the decision that I vehemently reject. Nine members of the Court decided to reverse the well-established jurisprudence on residence. I pity those who were disqualified earlier who were similarly situated as her," he wrote on his Facebook account.

"It is surely one of the lowest point in the history of our country."

Adopted foundling

All private complainants against Poe insisted in their memoranda that the high court would not be doing an injustice to Poe and foundlings should it decide to uphold her disqualification.

Poe is an adopted foundling from Iloilo. She migrated to the US to finish college and start a family, and later became a naturalized US citizen, then a dual citizen in 2006, and renounced her US citizenship in 2010 before becoming a senator in 2013.

In its ruling last December 23, the Comelec en banc upheld the First and Second divisions' rulings disqualifying Poe from the presidential election.

The en banc voted 5-2 to uphold the First Division's decision on the petitions filed by Tatad, Contreras and Valdez.

The en banc, meanwhile, voted 5-1-1 to uphold the decision of the Second Division on Elamparo's petition.

The SC has since issued a temporary restraining order on Poe's disqualification and slated oral arguments on the matter.

The poll body earlier this month started to print the ballots with Poe's name on it, and aims to finish printing some 57 million ballots by April 25. It has allotted 14 days to reprint rejected ballots and maintain printing machines.

Oral arguments

During the first round of oral arguments on January 19, Poe's camp, through lawyer Alexander Poblador, cited the case of the senator's father, Fernando Poe Jr., to defend the lawmaker's citizenship qualification, and the case of former First Lady Imelda Marcos to defend her residency.

Two justices -- De Castro and Peralta -- both said the senator's case cannot be compared either with her father's or Marcos' cases.

"There is a difference there because Mrs. Marcos never acquired American citizenship... Mrs. Marcos never lost her Filipino citizenship. According to her, she was forced to go to the US because of their condition after the EDSA revolution," said Peralta.

"There is marked difference between the jurisprudence you are citing and the provision of international law that you are invoking," De Castro said.

The international law that De Castro refered to was the 1930 Hague Convention and the 1962 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which Poblador cited to insist that Poe is a natural-born Filipino.

READ: What SC sustices said during oral arguments on Grace Poe's case

Second round

On the second round of oral arguments, Poblador maintained that Poe's use of her US passport from 2005 until 2010 should not affect her reacquisition of Filipino citizenship in 2006. The lawyer said that the US passport has no connection with her citizenship.

Sereno, during interpellation, said that justices have to be "careful" in reading laws and decisions pertaining to adoption and status of foundlings as it may come with "unintended consequences" on policies that apply to children of unknown biological parents.

The chief justice pointed to several laws and court decisions, notably Article XV of the Civil Code, R.A. 8552 (Domestic Adoption Act of 1998), and Ching Leng v. Galang, where the Supreme Court ruled that adoption does not automatically confer citizenship on the adoptee.

Third and fourth rounds

During the third round of oral arguments, Sereno said the high court can presume—and has presumed in the past—that people, including foundlings, are natural-born Filipinos.

Sereno warned again of dire implications for the country's foundlings. especially those working in government, if the SC comes up with a ruling that will strip them of their rights as Filipino citizens.

Jardeleza said during the fourth round of oral arguments that the Comelec might have "crossed the line" and violated Poe's right to due process when it cancelled her COC without considering the evidence on her citizenship and residency.

Fifth round

During the final round of oral arguments, De Castro required Solicitor General Florin Hilbay to include in his memorandum his legal basis for saying that foundlings are natural-born citizens as a matter of right.

De Castro also wanted to learn from Hilbay why Poe "concealed" her being a foundling and adopted child when she applied for dual citizenship in 2006.

Del Castillo, meanwhile, asked Valdez why he mentioned in his complaint against Poe the two properties that Poe continues to maintain in the US.
Valdez said it was curious that Poe had returned to the Philippines in 2005 "yet left properties [in the US] which could be tell-tale signs of wanting to still remain in the US." GMA News