Lamenting the absence of seasoned election lawyers in the Commission on Election’s second division that disqualified presidential frontrunner Grace Poe, Galing at Puso senatorial candidate Lorna Kapunan said she would not be surprised if the decision was eventually reversed by the Comelec en banc and later on, the Supreme Court.
“Election law is an expertise, a niche; it takes years of practice in election law to be considered an expert. Sadly, none of the lawyers sitting in the second division fits the bill,” Kapunan said.
Kapunan said that Al Parreño, chairman of the second division, himself admitted in media interviews that he was appointed for his expertise in information technology, not his knowledge in election law.
“The last job Parreño held before joining the Comelec was with the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board when Mar Roxas was secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications. He was not an election lawyer,” Kapunan said.
“Art Lim, on the other hand, is known as a feisty litigator, and was even a part of the team that prosecuted Chief Justice Corona. However, for all of his years in practice, he was never known to have engaged in election law,” said Kapunan, also a seasoned litigator known for handling high-profile cases.
“With all due respect to these commissioners, I have nothing against them personally as they both belong to Sigma Rho, the same fraternity of my late husband,” added the lawyer.
As for Sherrif Abbas, the third member of the division, Kapunan said that his tenure as legal officer in the Civil Service Commission’s Cotabato office “may have given him a familiarity with civil service laws, but not election laws.”
Because of this, Kapunan said that when the case is elevated to the SC, “our justices may be better equipped to appreciate the elements of the case.”
“The law is on our side. Jurisprudence is on our side. And the people are on our side. Ito ay laban para sa karapatan. (This is a fight for our rights.) We believe that when all is said and done, the law and the truth will prevail, and Grace Poe will be allowed to run for president.”