Voting 12-3, the Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the restraining orders issued against the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision canceling the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Senator Grace Poe.
The three justices who dissented against the restraining order are Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro and Arturo Brion, all members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) who voted for her disqualification.
The high court has also consolidated the two petitions filed by the Senator against the Comelec and set the case for oral argument on Jan. 19.
“The court, 12-3, voted to confirm the temporary restraining orders issued by the Chief Justice on 28, December 2015 in these two cases,” high court’s Information Chief Theodore Te said at a press conference.
The two restraining orders issued by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Dec. 28 are against the two separate decisions of the Comelec en banc that affirmed the decisions of its first and second divisions.
The Comelec’s first division cancelled Poe’s COC due to questions on citizenship and residency raised by former senator Francisco Tatad, Amado Valdez and Antonio Contreras.
The Comelec’s second division, on the other hand, cancelled 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.
Sereno issued the restraining order based on the written recommendation of the Member-in-Charge pursuant to Supreme Court Internal Rules.
Besides the two petitions questioning the Comelec decision cancelling Poe’s COC, also subject of the oral argument is the petition by Rizalito David which seeks to reverse the ruling of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) that dismissed the disqualification case against the senator.
However, the high court has reset the oral argument on David’s petition to another date. TVJ
RELATED STORIES
Poe elated by SC’s decision upholding TRO vs COC cancellation