Comelec Gravely Abused Discretion

In Poes Case
Artemio V. Panganiban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:25 AM April 10th, 2016

Now that the Supreme Court has deniedwith finality

and with the same 9-6 votethe motions for
reconsideration (MRs) on its decision allowing Grace Poe
to run, let me explain the ruling as clearly as I can for lay
readers.
Grave abuse of discretion. Superbly penned by Justice
Jose Portugal Perez, the 47-page decision is relatively
short, simple and straightforward. What complicated it
are the five concurring and five dissenting opinions
which, including the decision but excluding the separate
opinions on the MRs, consist of 688 single-spaced pages.
The gut issue that confronted the Court was: Did the
Commission on Elections gravely abuse its discretion in
holding (1) that Poe is not a natural-born citizen, (2) that
she failed to complete her 10-year residency, and (3)
that she made false material representations in her
certificate of candidacy (COC)?
Grave abuse of discretion is committed in two ways:
first, when an act is done without or in excess of
jurisdiction; and second, when it is done whimsically,
arbitrarily or despotically, amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction. The first refers to actual lack or excess of
jurisdiction; the second, to virtual lack or excess thereof.
The Court held that the Comelec rulings were deadly
diseased with grave abuse of discretion from root to
fruits because they violated the Constitution, the
Omnibus Election Code (OEC), and settled jurisprudence.

Comelecs egregious violations. The Comelecs authority

to cancel COCs is granted by the OEC exclusively on the
ground that any material representation contained [in
such COC] is false and, per settled jurisprudence, must
have been made with a deliberate intent to hide a
fact and to deceive the electorate as to ones
qualifications.
Veering from this exclusive ground, the Comelec ruled
that Poe did not possess the natural-born citizenship and
10-year residency qualifications, thereby usurping a
power vested solely in the Court by the Constitution,
thus: The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the
sole judge of all contests relating to the qualifications
of the President
The Court stressed that, per the OEC, the Comelec may
cancel COCs exclusively on one ground: when the
representation in the COC is (1) material, (2) false and
(3) made with a deliberate intent to mislead the
electorate.
As a newborn foundling found in the Philippines, Poe is
presumed a natural-born citizen due to the statistical
fact that over 99 percent of babies born here have
Filipino parents. Consequently, those who claim
otherwise have the burden of proving that the
foundlings parents were aliens, a burden that the critics
utterly failed to discharge.
This presumption is strengthened by the fact that Poe
has typical Filipino features: height, flat nasal bridge,
straight black hair, almond shaped eyes and an oval
face.
While the 1935 Constitutions enumeration [on who are
citizens] is silent as to foundlings, there is no restrictive

language which would definitely exclude foundlings

either. In fact, the Court found that the constitutional
framers intended foundlings to be covered by the
enumeration.
Also, the constitutional exhortations on social justice and
on the equal protection of the laws plainly favor
foundlings. Both the domestic laws on adoption and the
generally-accepted principles of international law
obligate the Philippines to grant nationality from birth
to them.
The Comelec arrogantly ignored settled jurisprudence
that repatriation enables former natural-born citizens to
regain their original status.
So, too, the Court said that Poes claim that she will
have been a resident for ten (10) years and eleven (11)
months on the day before the 2016 elections, is true.
She decided to permanently abandon her U.S.
residence and actually re-established her residence
here on 24 May 2005 Indeed, coupled with her
eventual application to reacquire Philippine citizenship
and her familys actual continuous stay in the Philippines
over the years, it is clear that when [Poe] returned on 24
May 2005 it was for good.
Plainly then, Poes statements in her COC about her
natural-born citizenship and 10-year residence were not
false. Much less were they deliberately made to hide a
fact and to mislead the electorate.
More suits? Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, joined
by Justice Diosdado M. Peralta, concurred with the
majority that the Comelec gravely abused its discretion.
But he found it unnecessary to vote on the citizenship

and residency issues. Dissenting Justice Mariano C. Del

Castillo did not also vote on the citizenship question.
Consequently, critics claim that only seven justices
upheld Poes natural-born citizenship and 10-year
residency; thus, her qualifications for the presidency can
still be challenged if she wins the elections. However,
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno correctly pointed
out that seven is a clear majority of the justices who
actually voted on these issues.
As for me, anyone can challenge Poes qualifications in
case she wins, in the same manner that anyone can
contest the eligibility of, say, Rodrigo Duterte whose
disqualification suit is still pending in the Comelec, or of
Jejomar Binay, who may be sued for alleged corruption,
or of Mar Roxas in the same way he filed a protest
against Binays vice-presidential victory in 2010. Yes, our
very litigious society tolerates suits for any real or
imagined cause. But suing is one thing; winning is quite
another.
Meanwhile, the losers should stop whining. They have
put up a good fight and there is honor in defeat. The
Court has spoken. Let us respect its final verdict.