The Supreme Court, via a 9-6 decision, ruled that Senator Grace Poe is eligible to run for the presidency. The decision came on March 8, International Women’s Day. Reports have it that Poe, in a women’s day rally, said that the SC decision is “tagumpay ng mga inaapi, tagumpay ng mga kababaihan! (victory for the oppressed, victory for women!)”
As of this writing, the votes of individual SC members have been made public but the document explaining the decision has yet to be released. What we know for now is that the Justices crossed “party lines” in casting their votes. Their appointing power did not seem to matter. If this is true, I say, this is good for our democracy. No matter if many of us do not always agree with SC decisions like in the case of granting bail to Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, independent thinkers are what we need in the high court.
As expected, the decision drew mixed reactions. If social media is a gauge, while many seem to want to put the issue to rest, not a few rant against the SC. The tone of those who disagree with the Court is one of anger, generally. I do not doubt that among them are those who really believe that the Constitution has been misinterpreted by the magistrates. However, I also know that many criticize the SC due to political reasons—they know that this is bad news for their candidates who are up against Poe.
Her opponents’ camps know that her being in the race spells big problems for their candidates. Her disqualification would have meant millions of votes up for grabs. With the SC junking the disqualification cases though, this is not going to happen. They should now work double time to increase their bets’ chances of winning.
It is also not surprising that those who filed disqualification cases against the senator plan to appeal the ruling. While this is their right, I would rather that everyone now should move on and concentrate on their respective campaigns. There is an election to win and I do not think that the SC will reverse its decision on this.
What Poe went through, how she handled the issues, how the disqualification cases impacted on her numbers, and how the SC decision will affect her candidacy is one interesting story. Months earlier, even before Poe decided to run for the highest office, I wrote about the Poe magic, and it seems that the spell holds.
Surely, Poe was stressed to the max these past months dealing with the campaign, the DQ cases she faced, and the stones thrown at her and her family. She did not falter. She addressed the issues head on without stooping down to disrespectful exchanges like what happened between Roxas and Duterte. She did not dignify black propaganda but instead remained focused on issues, and in articulating her message to the people. She continued to go where the people are and did not disappear when the sailing got rough.
Grace Poe was under trial. She was put to a test beyond citizenship. It was a test of her will, disposition, nerves, the kind of person she is. Unwittingly, her detractors made people see how tough Poe is. In the end they did her a favor. She was grace under pressure. Poe displayed nerves of steel. She showed resoluteness. Poe is a fighter. From where I sit, these are good leadership qualities that the country can use a lot of. After all, Malacañang is not exactly an easy office to have.
Despite the stumbling blocks, Poe’s standing in polls has been steady. Even with the uncertainty of her candidacy being upheld by the SC that could have made people hesitate, she has been consistently topping survey results. I actually expected her numbers to go down especially since it took a while before the SC decided. The fact that she succeeded in sustaining her leading position in surveys can only mean that she has genuine public support—the kind that is not easily swayed by opponents’ propaganda.
Now that the SC has given her the go signal, I will not be surprised if Poe’s numbers shoot up even more. Other camps are well aware of this, so she should expect more stones thrown her way. Demolition jobs will be meaner, for sure. In my opinion, Poe should continue showing people that she is not a pushover—turn this campaign into an opportunity to give the country a snapshot of how she will be as a president.
As a women’s rights advocate, I find it auspicious that the SC chose to decide on Poe’s fate on International Women’s Day. Of the presidential candidates, apart from Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago who needs a miracle to win, and Mayor Digong Duterte, only Poe can be considered pro-women’s rights.
Of the three, however, I am most hopeful with Poe. She is young, a mother, and educated in a more progressive environment. Poe said that she is open to other ways of thinking, to out-of-the-box solutions to problems. I am hoping that she is less bound to traditional ways of looking at women being a modern woman herself. Emphasizing women’s rights in her campaign, especially those of community women, will make her relevant to more voters. She is the only candidate that can credibly champion women’s rights. If I am correct here, she should capitalize on this and more votes from women can follow.
Beyond what has already been presented to the public, I, and other groups I know, are waiting for Poe to say that she will fully fund and implement the reproductive health (RH) law; that reproductive rights is in her agenda, and this includes divorce; that violence against women (VAW) will be effectively dealt with; that ordinary Filipino women will have equal employment and livelihood opportunities with their male counterparts; that being gender responsive will be integrated in our educational system, and that women will be capacitated to become active citizens in their communities, among others.
Women would like to see her champion us. There will be detractors, of course, but if she wants to, she can do this with grace under pressure.
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