Comelec orders Poe to answer ‘material representation’ allegation

Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe speaks before supporters during the announcement of her teamup with Sen. Chiz Escudero in September. The Commission on Elections has ordered Poe to answer the allegation that she resorted to material representation during her senatorial candidacy in 2013. INQUIRER.net PHOTO

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday ordered Sen. Grace Poe to answer the accusation that she committed material representation when she filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2013 elections.

Poe is required to submit her counteraffidavit and attend the preliminary investigation on Nov. 3.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by 2013 senatorial candidate Rizalito David accusing Poe of “material misrepresentation” in the COC she filed in the same year at the Comelec.

In his complaint, he said Poe was not a natural-born citizen, had failed to comply with the two-year residency requirement for senatorial candidates, and was ineligible “for the office she sought” in 2013.

“The gravamen of the offense is material misrepresentation. As [Poe] misrepresented her citizenship, her period of residence and her eligibility to run for senator, these transgressions should be penalized accordingly,” David said in the 20-page affidavit-complaint he filed in the Comelec law department in August.

David also has a petition seeking the disqualification of Poe before the Senate Electoral Tribunal. Tetch Torres-Tupas/RC

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