“The residency issue is simple arithmetic. One need not be a lawyer to see that Senator Grace Poe has surpassed the 10-year residency requirement to run for president.”
This according to Rep. Win Gatchalian of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, who on Wednesday scored the decision of the Commission on Elections’ Second Division, which said that Poe could not run for president as she did not meet the 10-year residency requirement.
Gatchalian, who is running for senator under the tandem of Poe and Senator Francis Escudero, said that though he may not be a lawyer like the members of the Comelec’s second division, “I know how to count.”
“Based on the 10-year residency requirement to be qualified to run for president, a candidate must have been a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years prior to election day, which is May 9, 2016. Therefore, the threshold date is May 8, 2006. The relevant question now is, did Senator Grace do anything prior to May 8, 2006 to show that she intended to permanently reside in the Philippines? The facts resoundingly say yes,” stressed Gatchalian.
According to Gatchalian, Poe’s lawyers provided the Comelec with evidence “that clearly shows that Grace intended to live in the country as early as 2005.”
“First, Senator Grace resigned from her job in the US in 2004. Second, in early 2005 she informed her children’s schools in the US that they would no longer be studying there, and in June 2005 she enrolled them in schools here. Third, in the latter half of 2005, she and her husband bought a condo in San Juan, followed later by the acquisition of a lot in early 2006. Fourth, in February 2006, Senator Grace moved all of their belongings from the US to the Philippines. Fifth, in April 2006, she and her husband sold their home in the US.”
“Napakalinaw po na wala na silang balak bumalik sa US. Napakalinaw po na balak na nila tumira dito. [It’s very clear that they had no intention of returning to the US. It’s very clear that they intended to live here.] That these facts were ignored has fueled speculation about the circumstances surrounding the decision of the Second Division, and given all the information available, you cannot blame people if they suspect something fishy,” explained Gatchalian.
Gatchalian’s sentiments were echoed by Dean Tony La Viña of the Ateneo School of Government. According to the respected legal academic, “the key word therefore in determining issues of residency in election law is intent,” but “nowhere in the 34 pages of the Second Division Resolution was there ever a discussion of Poe’s intent to abandon her residence in the United States and live in the Philippines.”
“The question of residence in election law is largely one of intention. It means intention to reside in a fixed place, personal presence in that place, and conduct indicative of such intention,” said La Viña.
Gatchalian said that the senatorial candidates running with Poe and Escudero would stand by their standard bearer. He likewise said that the NPC will also fully support the tandem.
“In the face of all these attempts to remove her from the presidential race, Senator Grace has repeatedly said she will fight on, and in this battle we’re behind her 100 percent—because we believe in her vision for a competent government with a heart, a country where no one is left behind.”