Escudero confident Poe will regain poll standing once SC rules on DQ cases

Vice presidential bet and Senator Francis “Chiz’ Escudero is confident that Senator Grace Poe will regain her lead in the presidential surveys once the Supreme Court (SC) rules against the disqualification cases filed against her.

Escudero, running mate of Poe, said it could not be denied that the decisions of the Commission on Elections’ First and Second Divisions to disqualify her have affected Poe’s standing in the surveys.

“Dawalang bagay, una talgang mag ti-taper off naman yung mga survey habang papalapit ang election dahil unti-unting nagde-decision ang ating mga kababayan,” he said , reacting to the latest Pulse Asia survey which showed Vice President Jejomar Binay as the voters’ top choice for president if elections were be held today.

(Two things, first, survey [results] will eventually taper off as election day draws near because the people are slowly deciding on their choices.)

Binay emerged as the voters’ top choice for president with 33 percent based on the Pulse Asia survey conducted from December 4 to 11, followed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Poe in second place with 23 percent and 21 percent , respectively, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas with 17 percent and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 4 percent.

READ: Binay regains lead in Pulse Asia poll, tops Duterte, Poe

“Pangalawa, hindi rin natin maipagkakaila na nakaapekto yung dalawang disqualification orders ng Comelec’s First at Comelec’s Second Division na hopefully, pag pumabor kay Senator Grace ang Korte Suprema mababawi din naman yun,” Escudero said.

(Second, the impact of the two disqualification orders of the Comelec First and Second Division cannot be disputed, and hopefully, the Supreme Court favors Senator Grace [Poe] so that the effect would be recovered.)

The two divisions of Comelec have already decided to disqualify Poe for allegedly making false statements about her period of residency in the country and her status as a natural-born Filipino but the lady senator appealed the decision at the Comelec en banc.

READ: Comelec disqualifies Grace Poe

But Escudero pointed out that only the SC can disqualify a candidate.

Aside from four disqualification cases at the Comelec, another petition seeking to unseat Poe as senator over her citizenship has also been pending at the high tribunal.

Escudero hopes that the SC would come up with a decision on all the cases against Poe before the May 2016 elections. He also expressed confidence that the high tribunal, based on its jurisprudence or previous decisions, would favor the lady senator.

“Uulitin ko, Korte Suprema lamang ang pwdeng mag-disqualify sa isang kandidado. Hindi ang Comelec, hindi ang SET [Senate Electoral Tribunal] o ang iba pang mga bodies na nagpapasya o nagde-decision,” he further said.

(I reiterate, only the Supreme Court can disqualify a candidate. Not the Comelec, not the Senate Electoral Tribunal or other judicial bodies.) CDG