Nancy Binay won’t skip chance to hear case vs Poe

Senator Nancy Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Sen. Nancy Binay said yesterday she will take an active part in the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) when it hears the citizenship case against Sen. Grace Poe.

Poe, separately, expressed the hope the members of the tribunal would be fair to her.

Binay is one of six senators who sit in the SET, whose nine-man panel is rounded out by its chair, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Arturo Brion.

The tribunal will soon hear the case filed against Poe by former senatorial candidate Rizalito David questioning her citizenship.

Binay is the daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay who recently resigned from the Cabinet and formally declared his opposition to the Aquino administration. The elder Binay is running for president next year, while Poe has said she is giving a presidential run some thought, making them potential rivals.

“I am really hoping they (SET members) will be fair. I think most of the members are fair,” Poe said in Filipino.

Aside from Binay, the other senators in the SET are Minority Leader Tito Sotto, Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar, Pia Cayetano and Bam Aquino.

Speaking to reporters, Poe said that like David, she wanted a quick resolution of the case.

“While I do not believe (David’s) intention for filing the case was pure, I am still thankful we will be given a chance to answer the allegation against me in a legal way,” the senator said.

Poe said she would be coming out with documents to prove she is a natural-born Filipino.

She cautioned the tribunal against coming up with a decision not based on the evidence.

“If they deviate from what should be the decision based on evidence, I believe it will be the people who will be the witnesses and judge them,” Poe said.

For her part, Senator Binay said she would take part in the hearing of Poe’s case as it was her responsibility to do so being a member of the SET. She made the assurance she would be objective.

“Evidence and the Constitution will guide me, not politics,” she said in a statement.

“I would like to assure the people I will remain fair and reasonable in appreciating the case.”–Christine O. Avendaño