The political opponents of Senator Grace Poe was warned by a Senior administration lawmaker that they should go easy on the citizenship issue against the popular senator because it may backfire. The lawmaker noted that the more they file cases regarding the citizenship of the senator, the more they will emphasize the humble beginnings of Sen. Poe in the Philippines.
According to Deputy Speaker and Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, the more opponents hit Sen. Poe – who is seen as running for President in 2016 – the more the senator could gain public sympathy.
Rep. Aggabao believes that if the citizenship case will reach the Supreme Court, the magistrates will likely rule in her favor.
“My perception is this: we have an activist Supreme Court. We’ve seen that in many decisions. My feeling is, if they see Sen. Grace Poe is on top of the heap and is soaring in poll surveys, they will listen to the people. At the end of the day, issues pertaining to her citizenship are not very difficult hurdles,” he said.
In a separate report, the Vice President of the Philippines, Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay said he is leaving it up to his daughter, Sen. nancy Binay, to decide on whether to inhibit from the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), which will hear the petition to unseat Sen. Grace Poe due to residency and citizenship issues.
The SET which will hear the case of Sen. Grace Poe is composed of six senators and three Supreme Court justices. It is currently chaired by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio with members Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Arturo Brion and Sens. Binay, Loren Legarda, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Pia Cayetano, Cynthia Villar and Vicente Sotto III.
