Grace Poe welcomes SC ruling on TROs: It’s for ‘democracy’

Camille Elemia

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Grace Poe welcomes SC ruling on TROs: It’s for ‘democracy’
'This only affirms my belief that I am indeed qualified to run for president in the May elections.... The fight continues!' says presidential aspirant Grace Poe

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe welcomed the Supreme Court decision upholding the 2 temporary restraining orders on her disqualification.

“Lubos akong nagagalak sa pagpapatibay ng Korte Suprema sa TRO na una na nitong inilabas laban sa cancellation ng Comelec sa aking certificate of candidacy. Pinatibay nito ang aking paninindigan na ako ay kwalipikado na tumakbo sa pagkapangulo sa eleksyon sa Mayo,” Poe said in a statement on Tuesday, January 12.

(I am extremely happy with the Supreme Court’s decision to affirm the earlier TROs it issued against the cancellation of my certificate of candidacy. This only affirms my belief that I am indeed qualified to run for president in the May elections.)

Poe earlier said her fight is far from over until the High Court says so, even as 2 Commission on Elections divisions and the en banc ruled to cancel her Certificate of Candidacy.

The en banc released its decision cancelling Poe’s COC on December 23, when government offices were on Christmas break. Poe was given 5 calendar days to seek relief from the SC, which immediately granted 2 TROs hours after Poe filed her petitions before the court.

The presidential bet said the decision is good for democracy, as she repeatedly cited the favorable SC ruling in 2004 on the disqualification case against her father, the late action star Fernando Poe Jr, over questionable citizenship.

The SC then ruled that the decision on elected officials should be left to the public.

“Ang desisyong ito ay mainam hindi lang sa aking kaso at sa aking mga tagasuporta, kundi sa demokrasya sa kabuuan. Tuloy ang laban!” Poe said.

(This decision is good not only for my case and for my supporters, but for democracy as a whole. The fight continues!)

TROs ‘prevent injustice’ vs Poe

Senator Francis Escudero, Poe’s running mate, said the SC decision only proves that Poe is qualified to run and remains to be a presidential candidate, as her name would still be on the ballot.

“I thank the magistrates of the SC. This confirms that Senator Grace is, and remains to be, a candidate for president, the efforts of those who seek to disqualify her notwithstanding,” Escudero said in a text message.

“We hope that the High Court will also uphold the laws and long established jurisprudence when it decides on the other petitions in connection with the candidacy of Senator Grace,” he added.

Meanwhile, Poe’s spokesman Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian expressed gratitude to the court, as he expressed hoped the SC would eventually junk the disqualification cases.

“We are grateful to the good justices for their swift action, impartiality, and wisdom. We are hopeful that in the coming days once the merits are discussed, they will see the basis of our position,” Gatchalian said. – Rappler.com 

 

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Face, Person, Human

author

Camille Elemia

Camille Elemia is a former multimedia reporter for Rappler. She covered media and disinformation, the Senate, the Office of the President, and politics.