Former senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, through his counsel Atty. Manuelito Luna, is hoping that the Supreme Court would issue a show cause order against Senator Grace Poe asking her to explain why she should not be cited for contempt for a political advertisement that mentioned the disqualification cases filed against her.
“We are hoping that this would lead to a show cause order because this is a contemptuous act. This is a disrespect of the proceedings and the sacredness of the cases and the issues involved,” Luna told reporters after he provided the high court on Friday with a copy of Poe’s advertisement.
In Poe’s latest 30-second ad, four neighbors could be seen discussing the disqualification cases against the lawmaker, with one of them, a woman, insisting, “Lola, kandidato pa rin po siya bilang presidente.”
Her male neighbor said, “Eh ganyang-ganyan din yung ginawa nila sa tatay niyang si FPJ eh,” as the woman continued: “Pero sa huli, pinayagan ng Korte Suprema na tumakbo.”
The man then says: “Parang pelikula lang yan ni FPJ, nagpapabugbog sa simula!”
Luna claimed that the ad is a disrespect to the Supreme Court because it intends to influence or put pressure to the high court.
There are three cases involving Poe which are pending before the Supreme Court.
The first is the petition filed by Rizalito David questioning the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) that dismissed his bid to unseat Poe from the Senate.
The two other cases are petitions filed by Poe questioning the decisions of the Commission on Election en banc canceling her certificate of candidacy.
“[The political ad] is a contumacious act and the Supreme Court should act on it in accordance with its internal rules in order to preserve the respect of the court. This is not an ordinary matter. This is a case of paramount importance and we should set an example if the good Senator is true in saying that she will abide by the rule of law then she should set a good example,” Luna said.
In their manifestation, Luna said the TV ad violates the sanctity of the judicial processes in the high court.