Resolve before polls

The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) should resolve forthwith, or within its self-imposed Nov. 17 deadline, the disqualification cases on the citizenship of Sen. Grace Poe, considering that whatever will be its decision will have some legal implications to the forthcoming presidential election and the functions of the Senate.

If the SET finds Poe a natural-born Filipino citizen, then she remains a duly-elected senator, and the decision will strengthen her candidacy for president in the May 2016 elections. Such decision might render moot and academic the disqualification case against Poe at the Commission on Elections. The case likewise involves the issue of her being a natural-born Filipino citizen. The other cases involving her residence could easily be resolved as similar cases, already decided by the Supreme Court, could be the basis of the Comelec resolution.

However, should the SET find that Poe is not a natural-born Filipino then she could be disqualified from holding her Senate seat; a vacancy would then occur in the Senate since her term as senator will end in 2019 yet. Note that the SET case was filed to disqualify her as a sitting senator, not as a candidate for president.

In which case, there is the imperative need that this issue be resolved with finality by the Supreme Court because such vacancy in case of Poe’s disqualification from the Senate could only be filled by means of a special election, which could be held simultaneous with the May 2016 elections.

The second paragraph of Section 4, Republic Act No. 7166, provides that “in case of vacancy in the Senate, the special election shall be held simultaneously with the next succeeding regular election.”  Since ballots for the May 2016 elections have not yet been printed, there would still be enough time for the Comelec to issue guidelines should Poe be disqualified and the Senate decide to call for a special election for her replacement.

Whatever may be the decision of the SET on or before Nov. 17, 2015 will eventually reach the Supreme Court which could resolve the issue by January 2016.  Thus, with due respect to our Supreme Court justices, they owe it to the public to immediately resolve this election issue once it reaches them for final disposition. It will not be very difficult for them to resolve such issue: To be sure, by this time all of them must already be familiar with the facts of Poe’s disqualification case and the laws applicable thereto.

—ROMULO B. MACALINTAL, election lawyer, Las Piñas City