IF THE Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting en banc, upholds the decision of its three-member Second Division disqualifying Sen. Grace Poe from running for president in next year’s elections, she says she will go up to the Supreme Court.
Things look bleak for the young, neophyte senator who was cajoled into running for the highest office by hangers-on.
Three of the high court justices—Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo de Castro and Arturo Brion—will surely vote for her disqualification—again.
The three jurist-members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) voted to have her disqualified as senator at the SET but were outvoted by its senator-members.
Carpio, De Castro and Brion said her citizenship is in limbo since her parents’ citizenship is unknown because she was a foundling.
The Comelec’s Second Division ruled her disqualification based on her lack of residency to run for the highest office and her status as a natural-born Filipino.
From the looks of it, the high court will uphold the Comelec decision.
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If Norwegian Torgeir Hoverstad, 63, is not released next week or the week after next, he will be spending Christmas in the Olongapo City jail.
“My wish is for me to be released before Christmas,” said Hoverstad in a conversation with this columnist over the phone.
The Norwegian photographer, who’s been in jail for two years, is charged with child pornography, human trafficking and child abuse under the Anti-Cyber Crime Law.
But Hoverstad is innocent, according to a 16-year-old girl who was supposed to be his victim.
The girl told Olongapo City Judge Jose Bautista Jr. months ago in open court Hoverstad was framed by a syndicate victimizing foreigners.
The girl told the court she was paid by the syndicate to testify against the Norwegian even if she didn’t know him.
The syndicate, she said, was out to extract money from Hoverstad.
When Judge Bautista didn’t release Hoverstad despite her testimony, the apparently guilt-stricken girl came to me to tell her story: from the time she was coached by the syndicate to make up a story against the Norwegian, until the time she told the open court that the charges against Hoverstad were false.
I sought the help of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to investigate the girl’s story.
The CIDG, after an exhaustive investigation, has found girl to be telling the truth.
But here’s the problem: Judge Bautista is under suspension for another case and he has not been replaced.
I appeal to the Supreme Court to immediately send a replacement for Bautista so the innocent Norwegian could be released.
An innocent man should not be in jail any minute longer because that’s a miscarriage of justice.
Let’s tell the world that there is justice in this country.
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Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Chair Ayong Maliksi has ordered the entire PCSO board and its president and general manager, Jose Ferdinand Rojas, investigated for the alleged “very low revenues” of the small town lottery (STL) submitted by operators.
The STL project was launched to fight “jueteng,” an illegal numbers game.
Maliksi says he has the “correct” amount on how much each STL operator was making, but doesn’t disclose how much, according PCSO insiders.
The former Cavite governor and congressman asked the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate.
He also wrote a memorandum to President Aquino on the PCSO’s financial condition based on the STL project.
Maliksi’s “true agenda” surfaced when he proposed in his memorandum to the President that there should only be two STL operators nationwide out of the many, said the PCSO sources.
In short, the PCSO chair wants a monopoly of the STL.