Comelec seeks more time to respond to Poe’s petitions

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has asked the Supreme Court for more time to respond to the petitions filed by Senator Grace Poe seeking a reversal of its decision canceling her certificate of candidacy (COC) and insisted that she should be allowed to run for president in the May 2016 elections.

This, after the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) refused to represent the poll body because it is already representing the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET).

In a seven-page manifestation with very urgent motion for extension, the Comelec said it has received a copy of the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order on Dec. 29 which required them to submit a comment within a non-extendable period of 10 days.

Then, on Jan. 4, 2016, OSG filed a manifestation saying it can no longer represent the Comelec.

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Comelec, in its manifestation added that they only received a copy of Poe’s petition last Jan. 4 and the last day to submit their comment is supposed to be on Jan. 7.

“Thus, the Comelec seeks the indulgence of the Supreme Court for an additional period of five days from Jan. 7 or until Jan. 12 within which to submit its comment,” Comelec told the high court.

The OSG, in its comment on behalf of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) said no grave abuse of discretion was committed when it ruled it favor of Poe.

Poe filed two petitions with the Supreme Court challenging two rulings of the Comelec en banc affirming the rulings of its first and second divisions.

The Comelec first division canceled Poe’s COC due to questions on citizenship and residency raised by former-Senator Francisco Tatad, Antonio Contreras and Amado Valdez. Meanwhile, the Comelec second division canceled Poe’s COC based on the petition filed by lawyer Estrella Elamparo stating that Poe failed to meet the constitutional requirement of a 10-year residency for presidential candidates.

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“The Comelec placed on Poe the burden of proving that she is a natural-born Filipino instead of placing it on petitioners (Tatad, Contreras, and Valdez),” the petition stated.

Poe, a foundling (abandoned child with no known parents) was found at a church in Jaro, Iloilo. She was adopted by celebrity couple Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces.

Aside from the Constitution, the petition added that Comelec also disregarded basic international law provisions on citizenship as well as the applicable international human rights instruments ratified by the Philippines that created an affirmative obligation to consider foundlings as natural-born citizens of the country.

On Poe’s second petition, her camp insisted that the Comelec refused to perform its positive duty to consider the evidence that she has reestablished her domicile of choice in the Philippines as early as May 24, 2005.

The senator’s camp added that “the Comelec acted whimsically and capriciously in concluding that Poe’s statement in her COC regarding her residency is false simply because it differed from the entry in her COC when she ran for senator in 2013.”