Poe’s disqualification cases politically motivated, ally says

Valenzuela First District Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian. Nestor Corrales/INQUIRER.net

The series of disqualification cases lodged against Senator Grace Poe are obviously politically motivated, an ally said Tuesday.

In a press conference, Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian said in his opinion, the spate of disqualification charges against Poe over her citizenship is part of a campaign strategy of Poe’s detractors.

Gatchalian said the citizenship issue against Poe was not even raised when she ran for senator in 2013.

“Hindi natin makakaila na may kinalaman ito sa pulitika. Nung tumakbo siya pagkasenador, hindi naman lumabas ito eh. Ngayon lang lumalabas ito eh,” Gatchalian said.

(We can’t deny that this is related to politics. When she ran for senator, this issue did not surface; it just came out now.)

He said the cases are part of a political ploy from her opponents because these share a common ground to derail her presidential bid because of her citizenship.

“Personal opinion ko ito. I think kasama rin yan sa political strategy ng isang kandidato; multiple times, even yung kaso, pare-pareho. We can expect more of the same cases filed in the future,” Gatchalian said.

(This is my personal opinion. I think this is part of a candidate’s political strategy; multiple times, even the cases are the same.)

Gatchalian said it is now the “period of politics” when mudslinging abound to derail the opponent’s presidential ambitions.

“We’re entering a period of politics na alam natin sino ang lalaban, sino ang katunggali natin. Alam naman natin kasama ito sa stratehiya,” he said.

(We’re entering a period of politics where we know who’s running, who we’re running against. We know that this is part of the strategy.)

Gatchalian said he does not know who may be behind the political mudslinging.

Gatchalian is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition. He is said to be part of the senatorial ticket of Poe and her running mate Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Poe faces several disqualification cases due to her citizenship. Because Poe was a foundling in Jaro, Iloilo, her detractors said she does not fulfill the constitutional requirement to be a natural-born because she is stateless.

Lawyer Rizalito David was the first to file the disqualification case before the Senate Electoral Tribunal against Poe because she is not a natural-born. He is supposedly allied with former Negros Rep. Jing Paras, a supporter of Vice President Jejomar Binay and an ally of Poe’s father Fernando Poe Jr. when the latter ran in the 2004 elections.

David was followed by Atty. Estrella Elamparo, who filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a petition to cancel Poe’s certificate of candidacy for her alleged failure to meet the 10-year residency requirement and a natural-born status.

Meanwhile, Atty. Francisco “Kit” Tatad, the chief propagandist of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, followed suit and filed the second disqualification case before the Comelec seeking to ban Poe from public office forever. Tatad is a known supporter of Binay.

The latest complainant is a La Salle professor, Antonio Contreras, who filed the similar petition to cancel Poe’s certificate of candidacy for president.