Analyst: ‘Marked difference’ in how justices, senators voted in Poe case

A political analyst on Tuesday said that it is "significant" to point out how the votes shook out in the disqualification case against presidential hopeful Senator Grace Poe.

The nine-member Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), composed of six senators and three high court justices, voted 5-4 to junk the disqualification case filed against Poe by defeated 2013 senatorial bet Rizalito David.

"We cannot second guess the Supreme Court, but what it does suggest is that there is a marked difference between the way politicians resolved the case, and the opinion of the jurists, the justices of the SC who are SET members," San Beda School of Law Dean Fr. Ranhilio Aquino said in an interview with GMA News Online .

The five members of the SET who voted to dismiss the petition were Poe's fellow senators Loren Legarda, Vicente Sotto III, Pia Cayetano, Cynthia Villar, and Bam Aquino.

Of the five, only Cayetano is a lawyer.

The four SET members who voted in favor of the petition were Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, and Arturo Brion, as well as Senator Nancy Binay, whose father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, is also vying for the presidency next year.

For the San Beda School of Law Dean, how the justices decided may also be an indication of how the high court will decide on whether the case will be elevated to the Supreme Court.

University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Danilo Concepcion, however, said that the 12 remaining justices may have different views on the issue.

"Alam mo naman sa Korte Suprema, hindi naman pare-pareho ng pananaw eh. Baka nagkataon na itong tatlo, pare-pareho ng pananaw. Pero hindi tayo sigurado kung pare-pareho ng pananaw ang nakakalamang doon sa 12," he said.

Concepcion also said that it may be better for the magistrates who were part of the SET to recuse themselves from hearing the case if it is elevated to the Supreme Court.

"Baka dapat ata mag-inhibit na sila doon sa taas... Wala namang nakalagay sa batas na dapat silang mag-inhibit. Pero baka meron silang internal rule or practice na nag-iinhibit," he said.

"Pero sa akin, para hindi sila mapaghinalaan na laban na laban sila kay Grace, baka dapat mag-inhibit sila," he added.

Prof. Popoy de Vera of the National College of Public Administration & Governance (NCPAG) of the University of the Philippines-Diliman also pointed out that Carpio, de Castro, and Brion may be asked by Poe's camp to recuse themselves if the case is sent to the high court since they have already "pre-judged" it in SET. — BM, GMA News