Poe lawyer hits ‘questionable’ timing of Comelec en banc ruling
The lawyer of Sen. Grace Poe has questioned the supposedly sinister timing of the release of the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc upholding the cancelation of the presidential aspirant’s certificate of candidacy.
George Garcia, in an interview with reporters, noted that the Supreme Court was mostly on holiday during the five-day period Poe’s camp could secure a temporary restraining order on the poll body’s decision.
“Hindi naman talaga namin ine-expect na papalarin kami dito sa Comelec. Sobra lang po kaming nalulungkot eh kung bakit nalabas ito dalawang araw bago ang Pasko. Dapat tayo ay masaya, maligaya, at inaalala ang pagkapanganak ng Panginoong Hesus. Ang nangyayari po dito ay wala po kaming ibang gagawin kung hindi gumawa ng petisyon,” Garcia said.
Garcia had gone to the Comelec main office in Intramuros to get a copy of the en banc decision. Today marks the start of the five-day period given to Poe’s camp to secure a TRO from the high court.
According to Rule 37 of the Omnibus Election Code, decisions on pre-proclamation cases and petitions to deny due course to or cancel certificates of candidacy shall become final and executory after the lapse of five days from their promulgation.
Garcia claimed that the Comelec should accord them judicial courtesy and not implement their decision to exclude Poe from the initial list of presidential bets.
Article continues after this advertisement“Sana pakinggan po muna ang inisyal na gagawin ng Korte Suprema,” he said.
Article continues after this advertisementHe said that should their camp fail to get a TRO, they would also file for a petition seeking for a status quo ante order.
The Comelec, for their part, said they decided to promulgate the decision on Wednesday to give Poe’s camp time to get a TRO.
“Ang issue was dapat ba naming ilabas ngayon or hintayin na lamang natin matapos yung holidays. Pero ang problema nu’n is that [it] could have been masyadong matagal. Baka mawalan sila ng panahon makapunta sa Supreme Court,” Comelec Chair Andres Bautista said in a press conference.
Bautista also confirmed that as of Dec. 23, Poe was still in the initial list of candidates for president. RC
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