MANILA (JGL) – I am not a mind reader nor a clairvoyant. But when former Censors Chief Grace Poe filled up her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for senator in 2013, qualifying for senator was all that mattered to her. Winning for senator was the farthest thing from her mind.
That is why while she was accomplishing her COC and learned that she needed only to be “a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election” to qualify as a senatorial candidate, it was a routine and straightforward application.
Matters, however, became complicated when she topped the senatorial elections.
As a traditional training ground for presidency, the senatorial position that Poe handily hurdled snowballed into a nationwide clamor for her to run for higher office – the presidency – the Holy Grail in Philippine politics.
I really don’t blame Ms. Poe for having a lackadaisical attitude as far as accomplishing her senatorial COC is concerned.
If she were a player trying to qualify in an open tournament, Ms. Poe was already contented by reaching the first round. And she did not want look past her opponents in the initial round either.
It’s like crossing the bridge only when you reach its foot.
That is why when she came up short of five months and 13 days in her 2013 COC for the senate which was later used against her by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify her less than three years later, it triggered a controversy that went all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Voting 9-6, the Supreme Court Justices, in a decision penned by Justice Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr., found for Poe, allowing her to run for presidency. On the issue of residency, the Supreme Court majority said for a candidate to qualify to run for presidency, he must have “1) residence or bodily presence in the new locality; 2) intention to remain there (animus manendi); and 3) an intention to abandon the old domicile (animus non revertendi).
The High Court reiterated that the intent to change domicile can be made “via a series of steps thru what the Court adverts in ‘Mitra v. Comelec’ and ‘Sabili v. Comelec’ as an ‘incremental process’ or the execution of ‘incremental transfer moves.’”
The Comelec disqualified Poe solely on her COC declaration she filed as a senator, saying Poe committed “false material representation.”
SC AFFIRMS ROMUALDEZ-MARCOS v. COMELEC (1995)
The majority cited the case of “Romualdez-Marcos v. COMELEC, (1995),” where the candidate mistakenly put seven (7) months as her period of residence where the required period was a minimum of one year. “We said that ‘[i]t is the fact of residence, not a statement in a certificate of candidacy which ought to be decisive in determining whether or not an individual has satisfied the constitution’s residency qualification requirement.”
On the natural-born citizenship issue, the Supreme Court held among others that “There is more than sufficient evidence that petitioner (Poe) has Filipino parents and is therefore a natural-born Filipino. Parenthetically, the burden of proof was on private respondents to show that both petitioner’s parents are aliens. Her admission that she is a foundling did not shift the burden to her because such status did not exclude the possibility that her parents were Filipinos, especially as in this case where there is a high possibility, if not certainty, that her parents are Filipinos.”
Joining Justice Velasco’s majority opinion were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Associate Justices Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen, Jose P. Perez, Alfred Benjamin Caguioa, Francis H. Jardeleza and Diosdado M. Peralta.
Two others, who joined the majority without opinion, were Associate Justices Jose C. Mendoza and Lucas P. Bersamin.
Chief Justice Sereno wrote, “Out of the 12 members who voted on the substantive question on citizenship, a clear majority of seven (7) voted in favor of petitioner. As to residency, seven (7) out of thirteen (13) voted that petitioner complied with the 10-year residency requirement.”
Six other Associate Justices led by Antonio Carpio, however, described the majority ruling as “no majority that will lead to absurd results, making a mockery of our national elections by allowing a presidential candidate with uncertain citizenship status to be elected president.” Joining Carpio in his dissent were Arturo Brion, Mariano Del Castillo, Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe, Bienvenido L. Reyes and Leonardo de Castro.
If Senator Poe wins the presidency, it will mean that the Filipino people supported the Supreme Court majority decision.
AVOID BEING OVERQUALIFIED!
Although a motion for reconsideration is going to be filed shortly, appealing the ruling, I believe, the motion is not likely to prosper as to overturn the majority ruling.
My feeling is this: when Ms. Poe filled up the COC, saying that she was a resident for six years and six months before the May 13, 2013 elections, she did not need to consult her legal adviser as she was already in full compliance with the minimum of two-year residency requirement as a senatorial candidate.
It’s like applying for dead-end job as a janitor or a cleaner. If the job description calls for a high-school graduate requirement, why would an applicant write in the job application that he is a college graduate, a degree that could make him overqualified and will only make his supervisor feel insecure and rule him out of consideration to hire him for the job.
With the wind from the Supreme Court majority blowing behind her back, Poe is likely to withstand the headwind from Justice Carpio and other dissenting associate justices. After all, she did not commit moral turpitude in her COC application nor committed a “conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals.”
With the sword of Damocles from the Supreme Court out of the way, the junior senator can now focus on the hard part – how she can convince the 20-million Filipinos, who voted for her during her senatorial election, to stick with her and help her spread the word that she is the best among the presidential candidates, who can transform the world.
I remember the great comedian Dolphy used to mock his fellow entertainers, who often parlay their popularity by transitioning from a make-believe world into the realm of politics with a quip, “Paano kung manalo ako?” (What happens if I win?).
Perhaps, the popular icon dreaded the thought that he was not prepared to do the job if he were elected into public office, although there is no school for good public servants.
I also remember in the early stage of the senatorial campaign of the 2016 elections, Dolphy’s ex, Alma Moreno, entertained the idea of running for senator under the banner of Vice President Binay. Alma’s early entry into the senatorial race did not gain traction when her answer fell flat to a question posed by ABS-CBN anchor Karin Davila, who asked Alma what her advocacies would be.
POLITICIANS NEED “ATIC”
Alma, whose ticket to the senatorial slate was her election as nine-year Paranaque councilor and officer (Secretary General, President and Chairman) of the Philippine Councilors League for as many years, said she intends to give voice to voiceless women and young girls, who are victims of domestic violence. Those, who are sexually harassed at home, by introducing laws that will protect witnesses to such violence when cases are brought up before the court.
When Ms. Davila reminded Alma that such law as Republic Act No. 9262 known as The Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Act of 2004 is already in place, instead of admitting her shortcoming for failure to do her homework, Ms. Moreno demurred by saying, “Kailangan pa bang sagutin yan?” (Is there even a need to answer such question?), a faux pas that went viral.
Remember, Manny Pacquiao, who was confronted with a similar predicament? Instead of answering “Yes” to the closed-ended question in the medical disclosure form prior to the “Fight of the Century” if “You have any injury to your shoulders, elbows, or hands that needed evaluation or examination? If yes, explain ______,” Manny, under pain of perjury, agreed to his adviser Michael Koncz that they answered “No,” and both Manny and Koncz signed the disclosure form. Violation of Nevada Perjury Law could land Manny and Koncz imprisonment of 1 to 4 years and they could both be fined the maximum of $5,000 each.
Manny could have just easily set aside the decision of his assistant, Koncz, if he is his own man and if he had used his common sense by collecting enough information first before making an informed decision. Only by making sure that his unelected advisers are feeding him truthful information that Manny could avoid the prospect of refunding the “Fight of the Century’s” alleged $300-M in revenue from pay-per-view purchases, the $120-M paid to Manny and the $70-M in gate proceeds that could lead Manny back to bankruptcy — all because of Manny’s dishonesty.
I hope Senator Poe will always be guided by honesty, accountability, transparency, integrity and credibility (ATIC) in handling major public decisions and crises of her presidency, which I call the Grace Period. ATIC was coined by Grace Poe’s supporter, Los Angeles, California balikbayan (returning Filipino) Bobby M. Reyes, who is running for governor in his native Sorsogon Province, which is also my home province.
Let Poe’s national campaign go into high gear! (jglariosa@hotmail.com)