Lawyer says case of DQ’d mayor not the same as Poe’s

Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

AMID growing anticipation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Sen. Grace Poe’s disqualification from the presidential race, the senator’s camp Friday invoked the rule of law in dismissing comparisons between her case and that of a mayor ousted for using his American passport after renouncing his US citizenship.

Poe’s lawyer George Garcia cautioned against speculation and said parties and the public should just wait for the high court’s ruling.

“Let us all wait for the SC decision. It’s forthcoming anyway. Whatever it may be, we should bow to its wisdom. This, after all, is what we call as the rule of law,” Garcia said.

The court is expected to issue its ruling on the urgent case soon after it was submitted for resolution on Monday, when parties submitted their respective memoranda following five sessions of oral arguments over five weeks.

Garcia shot down parallels drawn between Poe’s case, which challenges the Commission on Elections’ decision to disqualify her based on citizenship and residency questions, and a recent high court ruling involving a mayor who became an American citizen and came back.

He called the ruling “inapplicable” in Poe’s case. “No rhyme nor reason to conclude that they are the same,” he said.

Earlier this month, the high court affirmed with finality the disqualification of Rommel Arnado, mayor of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, who was proven to have used his US passport after renouncing his US citizenship in 2009.

The ruling nullified Arnado’s election in 2013, based on a case filed by the mayoral contender Florante Capitan, and even his victory in 2010, on the petition by his opponent at the time, Casan Maquiling.

In disqualifying Arnado, the Comelec recognized Capitan as the rightful winner of the mayoral seat. Petitioners against Poe in the Comelec had cited the two cases in moving for her disqualification.

But Garcia asserted that Poe never used her passport again after turning her back on US allegiance.

“Records would show that there was no use of the US passport after her renunciation of US citizenship in October of 2010. The last time it was used by her was in March of 2010 or several months before said renunciation,” said Garcia.

He cited Poe’s travel records before the Bureau of Immigration and entries on the US passport itself.