Grace Poe

By William B Depasupil
Manila Times


The Commission on Elections (Comelec) law department is set to decide on a complaint against Sen. Grace Poe that she allegedly perjured herself when she filed her certificate of  candidacy (COC) for senator in 2012.
During yesterday’s resumption of the law department’s preliminary investigation of the election offence filed against the senator by radio commentator Rizalito David, both their lawyers agreed to submit the case for  resolution.
“We stipulated that the annexes or evidence attached in the counter-affidavit of Poe are the same. Since they are common annexes, they are existing, the preliminary investigation is deemed terminated and submitted for resolution. Both counsels jointly manifested that the case is now submitted for resolution by the law department of the Comelec,” said David’s counsel, Manuelito Luna. Under the Comelec’s rules of procedure, a case should be decided within 15 to 30 days from the date of submission.  The law department’s decision will then be submitted to the Comelec en banc for a final ruling.
Luna clarified that the case they filed against Poe is not a disqualification or a cancellation case, but an election offence charge, which, in a worst-case scenario, may result in Poe’s imprisonment of up to a maximum jail term of six years even as she would not lose her seat in the Senate.
“There’s a maximum jail term, if I’m not mistaken, of six years but no unseating. She will not be unseated. The unseating will only occur if we are favoured before the SET (Senate Electoral Tribunal) in so far as her senatorial position is concerned,” David’s lawyer added.
Luna  explained that regardless of a favourable or unfavourable final decision on Poe’s case, no appeal could be made either with the Supreme Court (SC), the Comelec or  the electoral tribunal.
 He claimed  that what can be brought to  the SC is  a petition for certiorari  or grave abuse of discretion
complaint.