PH has an imperiled democracy, says lawyers group

GRACE POE AT SENATE / JANUARY 18 2016
Presidential candidate and Senator Grace Poe and Vice-Presidential Chiz Escudero at the session hall in Pasay City as the Senate resumes session after a month of break.
INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

“Patriotism or the devotion to one’s country and the concern for its defense are the paramount reasons why the Philippine Constitution requires that a presidential candidate be a natural born citizen and a resident of the country for ten years following the election,” said Lawyer Pearlito B. Campanilla, lead convenor of Leap or Lawyers for an Election Advancing the People’s will, on Tuesday.

He added that following this reasoning, an alien who gets naturalized cannot be expected to love more and defend the Philippines over the country of his origin.

“So thus an individual who has not sojourn long enough in the Philippines to know by heart the Filipino culture, values, beliefs, attitudes and parochial eccentricities, that the time frame to know all of these is supposedly ten years. Senator Grace Poe-Lalamanzares is said to be not a natural born citizen for she is a foundling, that further she is said to be residence-short for about half a year preceeding the 2016 presidential election,” Campanilla said.

On the other hand, Campanilla said, there is that school of thought which opines that Senator Poe is certainly natural born for she was in the first place not an alien who only got naturalized.

“For even in the Philippines a foundling is handed Filipino citizenship in a silver platter without the need of filing a petition for naturalization. Further, her residence in the Philippines started during her infancy up to the time that she got married thus she knows by heart all Filipino culture and traditions, including her countrymen’s embarrassing affliction to tardiness, crab mentality, ‘ningas kugon,’ etc.,” Campanilla said.

“So is she qualified to be the president of the Philippines or not? The general confusion puts at bay our countrymen’s resolved on who they will be bracing for support this coming 2016 election,” Campanilla said.

To add confusion to the controversy are the equally divided opinions of lawmakers, former Supreme Court justices, law deans, election law experts, experienced law practitioners and even presidential advisers such as the Office of the Solicitor General.

Thus, there is this clarion call for the brilliant magistrates of the Highest Tribunal to decide this issue with dispatch, not only for Senator Grace Poe, but also for the league of individuals who has shown initial liking for her to become the leader of our nation in the next six years.

“But must the unelected members of the Supreme Court be the sole and exclusive judge of this issue? Must this controversy be decided after a lengthy constitutional debates by lawyers, judges, justices and other legal minds? Should the provision of the Constitution be interpreted by the ‘letter that kills and not by the spirit that gives life?’” Campanilla asked.

“Is it not, like the issue on political dynasty, pork barrel, freedom of information, charter change etc., this matter of qualification or disqualification best suited to be decided by the people at large?”

Lawyer Pearlito B. Campanilla,
lead convenor of LEAP or Lawyers for
an Election Advancing the People’s will. CONTRIBUTED IMAGE

Legally speaking, the arguments could go either way from a technical point of view owing on where the side of fence it is coming from.

Constitutionalist Father Joaquin Bernas, in his December 11, 2011 interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, has expressed the opinion that:

“… I have been teaching constitutional law long enough to realize that there often are two or more possible sides to a constitutional argument. and the outcome of a constitutional debate often depends upon the modality of constitutional interpretation a justice might use.”

“It must be emphasized that the requirements provided for in the Constitution anent the qualification of a presidential candidate must be viewed as a mere tool designed to ascertain who among them is best suited to do the job,” Campanilla opined. “Over emphasis on technicalities must be avoided. The law abhors technicalities that impede or frustrate the people’s will. Election, like litigation and unlike duels, are not to be won by a rapier’s thrust. Technicality, when it deserts its proper office as an aid to determining who among the candidates are best qualified should be given scant consideration by the Highest Tribunal.”

“Let it be said that our courts always has the discretion to rigidly be technical on an issue. Nonetheless, the discretion to be technical must be a sound one, to be exercised in accordance with the tenets of justice and fair play, having in mind the circumstances obtaining in each case.”

Poe is the run-off winner in recent surveys (SWS and PULSE Asia) before she was tagged as disqualified by Comelec. It may also be recalled that she received one of the highest number of votes in the history of Philippine election when she ran for a senate slate in 2013 and was elected as the number 1 senator of the Philippines in that year. She was also the first choice as a vice-presidential candidate of the two prominent presidential candidates namely: Secretary Manuel A. Roxas and Vice President Jejomar C. Binay Jr.

Given this light, for Campanilla, the people has definitely pre-judged her as a qualified presidential candidate.

“Conventional wisdom therefore dictates that instead of anchoring our national destiny on a vague and ambiguous constitutional provision, it is best that this issue be resolved in consonance with the principle ‘salus populi est suprema lex’ or the ‘will of the people is the supreme law’,” Campanilla said.