Senator Antonio Trillanes IV hit the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division for issuing a ruling disqualifying Senator Grace Poe from the 2016 presidential race which will favor some political factions.
At a press forum in Manila on Wednesday, a disappointed Trillanes said that the decision of the Comelec division on Poe’s eligibility as a candidate was not objective and was “blatantly partisan.”
“I am extremely disappointed with the second division of the Comelec for allowing themselves to be used as political instruments and to favor political interests. Akala ko nagbago na ang Comelec natin, sila lang ang tagabantay ng ating mga boto at ipapaubaya nila yung demokrasya na manaig (I thought our Comelec has changed, they are only the watchdogs of our votes and they should let democracy prevail),” Trillanes said.
He even assailed the character of the commissioners of the election body, saying that he thought that they are non-partisan.
“The assumption is ang pinipili natin [sa Comelec] ay non-partisan, at mga maayos na tao. (The assumption is the people we put in the Comelec are non-partisan, and competent people.) This is blatant partisan politics,” he said.
READ: Comelec disqualifies Grace Poe | Poe camp on disqualification: There is no ‘Plan B’
On Tuesday, the Comelec Second Division presiding commissioner Al Parreño, with commissioners Sheriff Abbas and Arthur Lim, ruled in favor of the petition of laywer Estrella Elamparo canceling the certificate of candidacy of Poe for 2016 polls over residency and citizenship issues.
Trillanes, who is seeking the vice presidency, refused to name the group who is supposedly behind the partial decision but said that they do not exemplify the traits of a good leader.
“I am not referring to anybody. Well, not yet. But whoever is behind the decision of the three commissioners, definitely he is not a good leader,” he said.
Poe is backed by the Magdalo party-list, the group which propelled Trillanes to the national scene as its two-termer senator.
He expressed hope that the Comelec en banc would rule in favor of the presidential poll frontrunner.
“Pilipino si Senator Grace Poe. (Senator Grace Poe is a Filipino.) She looks Filipino, she talks like a Filipino, and she acts Filipino. I am confident that the rest of the commissioners will see the light and why the decision of the second division is wrong.”
“Malalampasan po ni Senator Grace Poe lahat ng legal obstacles na ito, makakaabot siya ng eleksyon at pipiliin siya ng taumbayan to be the next president of this country. Tuloy lang ang laban na ito. Hindi ito matatapos sa second division,” he said.
(Senator Grace Poe will hurdle all these legal obstacles, she will make it to the elections and will be chosen by the people as the next president of this country. This fight shall go on. It doesn’t end in the second division.) CDG
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