FERNANDO AIR BASE, Batangas — President Benigno Aquino III admitted on Wednesday that the Supreme Court decision to allow Sen. Grace Poe to run for president will give a boost to her candidacy.
“Syempre magkakaroon ng boost sa kanyang kandidatura. Gaano katagal? Hindi natin masabi ‘yan,” he told reporters after the Air Force turnover ceremonies.
Poe, who was the top choice by the administration to be its vice presidential candidate, is topping the pre-election surveys.
Aquino said that if there is anything that he has learned, it is not to worry about things that are beyond his control.
“Iyong dapat gawin ‘yung mga kaya mong gawin, o intindihin mo ‘yung kaya mong gawin. Huwag mo nang masyadong problemahin ‘yung isang bagay na wala kang control,” he explained.
The SC, with a voting of 9-6, reversed on Tuesday the decision of the Commission on Elections to disqualify Poe from running for president in the upcoming elections.
Aquino to SC: Explain the rules to the public
Aquino also declined to comment on the decision until he reads it in full. He also wants the SC to explain the ruling to the public.
“Mahirap magkomentaryo doon sa hindi pa natin nabasa, puro speculation lang ang gagawin ko,” he said.
“Sana yung Korte Suprema dito sa kanilang desisyon ay magbigay talaga nang… iyong todong kalinawan o paglilinaw sa sambayanan na in their role as edicator as far as the law is concerned para maging klarung-klaro sa lahat ng ating mamamayan kung ano ba talaga ang alituntunin sa pagiging citizen or non-citizen ng ating bansa,” he said.
He also wanted it to be clarified on how Poe reacquired her Filipino citizenship. She supposedly visited a consular office in 2011 to renounce her citizenship when she was already the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board at that time.
“At palagay ko naitanong ko rin bakit kailangan pang gawin dahil ang assumption ko nga ay matagal-tagal nang na-reacquire supposed to be ‘yung citizenship. So gusto kong makitang sana may tugon doon sa mga tanong, tulad ‘non doon sa desisyon na hinihintay nating ilabas ng Korte Suprema,” he said.
Aquino also emphasized the independence of the SC justices as four of his six appointees voted in her favor.
“Itinilaga natin sila para maging independent. Ginawa nila ang independence nila,” he said.
Comelec earlier disqualified her to run for supposedly failing to meet the 10-year residency requirement.
Poe was found in a church in Iloilo when she was a baby and was adopted in 1968. She spent most of her life in the United States and returned to the Philippines in 2005.
She married a Filipino-American and acquired a US citizenship in 2001. She reacquired her Filipino citizenship in 2005 and renounced her American citizenship in 2010.