Poe asks Comelec to dismiss poll disqualification case

SEN. GRACE Poe on Friday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to dismiss the election offense case filed against her by defeated 2013 senatorial candidate Rizalito David.

Poe, through her counsel George Garcia, asked the Comelec law department to take a cue from the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) resolution, which affirmed its Nov. 17 ruling that Poe was a natural-born Filipino.

The SET maintained its 5-4 vote and junked the motion for reconsideration filed by David, who sought Poe’s ouster from the Senate on grounds she was not a natural-born citizen.

The case decided by the SET is separate from the four cases filed in the Comelec seeking to disqualify Poe from the race for Malacañang.

“Given the SET’s decision and resolution … respondent submits that this Honorable Commission can no longer find sufficient ground to (say) that respondent lied in her (certificate of candidacy) when she represented that she possessed the citizenship and residency qualifications as senator. The complaint must be dismissed for lack of probable cause,” the motion said.