Poll body urged to settle Poe, Duterte disqualification cases

Senate chief says the credibility of the 2016 elections hangs in the balance

The head of the senate called on poll administrators to issue a ruling on the disqualification cases filed against two leading presidential candidates in order to settle doubts on the credibility of the May 2016 elections.

Senate President Franklin Drilon urged Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista to convene the seven-member Comelec so that they can decide on the pending disqualification cases against presidential aspirants Senator Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as soon as possible. He said the credibility of the elections in 2016 hangs in the balance.

“To ensure the conduct of a free, fair and credible election next year, I am calling on Chairman Andres Bautista and the members of the Commission on Elections to rule at the soonest on the petitions against Poe and Duterte on the basis of the merits presented by the parties involved,” said Drilon.

Office trouble

Earlier, two separate divisions of Comelec issued rulings on the issue concerning Poe’s citizenship.

The Comelec, in rulings by the second and first divisions rendered respectively on December 1 and December 11, the poll body turned down Poe’s candidacy application on the basis that she does not meet the residency requirements for such an election. Candidates for the presidency must have lived in the country for 10 straight years to the month, aside from this, there is also a question on Poe’s nationality.

Poe does not know who her real parents are or their nationality. According to narratives, she was found at the steps of a church in Iloilo in the Visayas.

As for Duterte, a disqualification case was filed against the mayor last November 28, alleging that he had filed an erroneous entry in his certificate of candidacy.

Grace Poe does not know who her real parents are nor their nationality. According to narratives, she was found at the steps of a church in Iloilo in the Visayas.

Error in writing

The issue complicating Duterte’s bid, according to petitioner Ruben Castor, was the fact that he was running as president in place of Martin Dino who is aiming for the Pasay City mayoralty post.

Dino had argued that he had made a clerical error in his application. Comelec officials are deliberating the issue.

“The election is a basic tenet of democracy and any threat to it should be immediately resolved by the Comelec ...” Drilon said.