TWO petitioners who sought the disqualification of Senator Grace Poe from the presidential race have asked the Supreme Court to deny her plea to consolidate the disqualification cases filed against her at the Senate Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Elections.
In separate pleadings filed Wednesday, Rizalito David, who initiated the disqualification case against Poe in the SET, and Antonio Contreras, who sought her exclusion before the Comelec, opposed Poe’s plea to consolidate their separate cases.
They filed their pleas even as former Senator Francisco Tatad said Wednesday he remained skeptical about Poe’s eligibility to run for president, adding there were problems with her citizenship and residency.
Tatad earlier filed with the Comelec a disqualification case against Poe on the ground she failed to comply with the 10-year residency requirement. He also argued that Poe was not a natural-born citizen due to her unknown parents.
Tatad told ANC he considered “problematic” Poe’s official adoption by the actress Susan Roces and late actor Fernando Poe Jr.
“The adoption was by virtue of an order issued by the municipal court of San Juan in 1974. During that time, the municipal courts had no jurisdiction over adoption cases, so this is a problem,” Tatad said.
In the House, two lawmakers praised the Office of the Solicitor General for agreeing with the SET ruling that Poe is a natural-born citizen and therefore qualified to run for senator in the 2013 elections.
“The position taken by the OSG, as ably represented by Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, strengthens my faith in the justice system and bolsters my confidence that, in the end, truth will prevail,” Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo said in a statement.
House Deputy Minority Leader Silvestre Bello III said the Solicitor General’s decision proved there was an effort to disqualify Poe from joining the presidential race.
“Obviously, there is a conspiracy to disqualify Senator Poe, and who the conspirators are is very obvious,” Bello said.
David said the SET and the Comelec cases involved “different parties and originated from different electoral tribunals,” and therefore should not be consolidated.
Contreras also objected to Poe’s plea to consolidate the cases.
Earlier, the Comelec asked the high court for more time to answer Poe’s petitions questioning its decisions last month disqualifying her from the presidential elections in May.