Rody welcomes SC decision on Poe

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
Presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte welcomed the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the reversal of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision disqualifying his opponent Senator Grace Poe.
“Good luck to her and I wish her the best,” Duterte said in a statement.
Majority of the SC justices yesterday allowed Poe to run as president with 9-6 votes including SC chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
The eight Associate Justices who voted in favor of Poe were Presbitero Velasco Jr., Lucas Bersamin, Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, Marvic Leonen, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Francis Jardeleza and Diosdado Peralta.
Those who voted to disqualify her were Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Arturo Brion, Justice Mariano Del Castillo, Bienvenido Reyes and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.
Poe, on the other hand, thanked the SC for the 9-6 ruling on Tuesday to grant her petition to reverse the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision to cancel her Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) in the May 9 elections.
“I want to thank also the Supreme Court for recognizing the truth, justice and, most of all, protection for the oppressed,” Poe said in an ambush interview at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila where she attended the International Women’s Day event organized by the women’s group Gabriela, one of Poe’s supporters.
Poe likewise thanked the Filipino people who kept their trust on her amid the disqualification cases filed against her at the Comelec.
“I want to thank those who prayed not only for me but for justice,” Poe, one of the leading presidential aspirants, said.
With the SC’s favorable decision, Poe said she now has a chance to pursue her dreams to achieve the people’s dream for a better future.
”I will not ever forget this experience which I will use to achieve unity so that we will be united in achieving a better future for the whole nation and not only for a few,” Poe said.
A source close to Poe said she broke into tears upon learning of the High Court’s ruling which came out on the day that the nation is celebrating the International Women’s Day.
Poe was reportedly in front of the Quiapo church when she learned of the good news.
As a foundling, Poe was found in a church in Jaro, Iloilo.
The petitioners filed the disqualification cases at the Comelec, claiming that Poe, being a foundling, is not a natural-born Filipino.
The Comelec also agreed with the petitioners that Poe has not met the 10-year residency requirement for a presidential candidate. (with report from PNA)