Grace Poe may still file for candidacy, says Comelec

Sen. Grace Poe’s disqualification case before the Senate Electoral Tribunal cannot stop her going to the Commission on Elections to file a candidacy certificate to run for president in 2016, said Comelec Chair Andres Bautista.

Poe is free to file a COC from Oct. 12 to 16 with the Comelec as accepting applications to run for public posts is a ministerial duty of the poll body, said Comelec chair Andres Bautista. He said it shouldn’t affect the case against Poe before the SET, either.

However, Bautista explained that this does not mean that Poe will be automatically included in the list of candidates as a disqualification case may still be filed against her.

“If there is anybody who files a case against her (Poe) or any other candidate, the Comelec will deliberate on it. At the same time, we will look at the decision of other government agencies, like the SET,” he said.

Losing senatorial candidate Rizalito David has filed a disqualification case before the SET, seeking to remove Poe from the Senate, on the ground that she did not meet the qualifications of a senatorial candidate when she ran in 2013 as she was not a natural-born Filipino.

The SET is expected to decide the disqualification case against Poe by November.

Aside from the one filed at SET, David also filed an election offense case before the Comelec Law Department last August, accusing Poe of material misrepresentation in her candidacy certificate, concerning her citizenship, period of residence, and eligibility to run for senator.—Tina G. Santos