STATEMENT ON THE DISQUALIFICATION OF SEN. GRACE POE

I am extremely disappointed by the decision of the Comelec Second Division to disqualify Sen. Grace Poe. This is a blatant display of partisan politics. She was allowed to run for the Senate before and she won overwhelmingly. Comelec does not have a mandate to choose candidates. In a Democracy, it is the people who should choose their own leaders.

Sen. Grace Poe is a Filipino and everybody knows it except those whose political interests would be affected by her candidacy. As to her residency, it should be based on the intention to reside permanently in the country and this was best manifested by the fact that Sen. Poe's children were enrolled in Philippine high schools back in June 2005. To base it on the date of her application for dual citizenship is erroneous. To cite an example, a foreigner who wishes to be a citizen of the Philippines would need to satisfy a residency requirement which is based on the time that he resided permanently in the Philippines even though during this time he is still not yet a Filipino citizen.