Don’t blame Aquino for Poe’s woes–Palace

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

THE AQUINO administration is “neither the immediate nor the remote cause” of Sen. Grace Poe’s legal troubles, Malacañang said Monday.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda was reacting to Sen. Francis Escudero’s accusation that the Palace and the ruling Liberal Party (LP) had a hand in the filing of disqualification cases against Poe in the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“It’s unfair for them to attribute it to us,” Lacierda told reporters.

Instead, he urged the Poe camp to “just explain and present its case before the Comelec or before whatever tribunal that is supposed to appear instead of just blaming everyone else for what is happening to it.”

“We are not the immediate cause, neither are we the remote cause of what’s happening right now to Sen. Grace Poe,” he said.

Mar Roxas, the LP standard-bearer in next year’s elections, over the weekend assailed Escudero for linking him to disqualification cases against the latter’s running mate in the polls.

Referring to Escudero, Roxas said “the partner of my rival is blaming me. I have nothing to do with it (filing of the disqualification case).”

Escudero earlier said lawyer Estrella Elamparo, who filed a petition for Poe’s disqualification, had links to Roxas’ camp.

Elamparo was connected with a law firm associated with former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, a campaign supporter of Roxas. She also served as chief legal counsel of the state-run Government Service Insurance System.

On Monday, Lacierda also said the President did not engage in a “demolition job” when he talked about the accomplishments of his “daang matuwid” (righteous path) crusade during a meeting last week with Filipinos in Italy.

In the same gathering, he also compared Roxas with the other presidential aspirants.

“It’s not accurate to say it’s a demolition job,” Lacierda asserted.