By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
OF the eight presidential candidates that the Commission on Elections approved to be listed in the ballots for the May 9, 2016 elections, two are facing disqualification cases: Grace Poe and Rodrigo Duterte.
The eight names that Comelec said would be in the ballots are: Jojo Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA); Miriam Defensor Santiago of the People’s Reform Party (PRP); Rody Duterte of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban); Mel Mendoza of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP); Grace Poe, independent;Mar Roxas of Daang Matuwid Liberal Party (LP); Roy Señeres of Partido ng Mangagawa at Magsasaka Workers (WPPPMM); and Dante Valencia,independent.
Printing of the ballots will start on Feb. 1 although Senate President Franklin Drilon, an LP stalwart, is asking the poll body to delay it and wait for the resolution of the disqualification cases being heard by the Supreme Court. (Update: Comelec agreed to move start of printing of ballots on Feb. 8)
The disqualification cases against Poe allege that she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen because, being a foundling, her parents are unknown and that she lacks the required Philippine residency of 10 years before the May 9 elections.
Duterte’s disqualification case centers on the validity of his substitution,Martin Diño, who withdrew his confused candidacy (he wanted to file a certificate of candidacy for president but the form that he used was for mayor of Pasay City) before the Comelec declared him a nuisance candidate.
Comelec is reported to be cool to Drilon’s request to wait for the SC decision before printing the ballots.
Now, what happens if the winner in the May 9 polls is the one facing disqualification cases and the High Court decided that he or she is not qualified?
Take the case of Poe. What happens if Poe wins and the Supreme Court decides that she is not qualified to run for president?
Lawyer Harry Roque, who is aiming for a seat in the House of Representative through the partylist group, Kabayan, said the crucial factor is proclamation.
If the Supreme Court decided before Poe is proclaimed that she is not qualified to become president, the candidate with the second highest number of votes will be proclaimed president. If Poe is number one and Binay is number two, Binay becomes president. If Duterte is number two, then it’s Duterte who will be president. If it’s Roxas, then Roxas will realize his dream of becoming president.
Now, if Poe has already been proclaimed winner of the 2016 elections, the cases against her becomes the jurisdiction of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal composed of all the Supreme Court justices.
No problem if PET declared her qualified. She goes on with her presidency.
But if the PET declared her disqualified, the elected and proclaimed vice- president becomes president.
In the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations, Poe’s running mate, Chiz Escudero, is leading the vice-presidential race but Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., running mate of Santiago, is fast catching up.
A Marcos presidency in 2016 is not totally out of the picture.
This is a very interesting elections.
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