Rizalito David to appeal SET ruling on Grace Poe's case

Rizalito David, the petitioner in the disqualification case filed against Sen. Grace Poe before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) said the senators who voted to junk his complaint just voted due to "political accommodation" and not based on legal issues.

“Parang ang nangyari ngayon, 'O Grace pinagbigyan ka na namin, at least dito sa Senate Electoral Tribunal. Pero pagdating dun sa Supreme Court, ay wala na kaming magagawa diyan kapag sinabi ng Supreme Court na hindi ka pwedeng manatili bilang senador',” David said in an interview aired on GMA News' “24 Oras” on Wednesday.

David was referring to the five senators who are sitting as members of SET, who voted for the dismissal of his disqualification case against Poe.

“So, parang ang nangyari dito ay political accommodation,” David said.

In a 5-4 vote, the SET on Tuesday dismissed David's disqualification case against Poe, which seeks to unseat the latter from the Senate on the ground that she is allegedly not a natural-born Filipino citizen.

The SET members who voted to junk David's petition were Senators Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Loren Legarda, Bam Aquino, Cynthia Villar and Pia Cayetano.

Those who voted in favor of David's petition were Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo-De Castro and Arturo Brion as well as opposition Senator Nancy Binay, daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

VP Binay, Poe and David had earlier filed their certificate of candidacy to run for president in 2016 elections.

David said he will file a motion for reconsideration before the SET on Monday to urge the tribunal to reverse its ruling.

David challeged the five senators to show that they are not voting based on politics by looking at the supposed legal merits of the motion for reconsideration that he is about to file.

David had earlier said that he is ready to elevate his petition before the SC should the tribunal deny his motion for reconsideration.

“Let him (David) say what he wants. I know the truth and what is right,” Sotto, who had been vocal about her support for Poe's presidential candidacy, said in a statement.

Aquino, who is a member of the administration's Liberal Party (LP) and a staunch supporter of its presidential bet Mar Roxas, said he voted based on legal arguments not on political considerations.

“Kapag ikaw ay foundling at kung saan kang bansa nahanap, ikaw ay citizen ng bansang iyon, internationally accepted principle po yan,” Aquino said.

Aquino also stressed that the LP had never influenced him in making his vote on the petition.

“In fairness to the party, wala hong sumubok na ibahin ang aking isipan,” Aquino said.

Cayetano and Villar refused to comment on David's statement. GMA News was trying to get a reaction from Legarda as of posting time.

Meanwhile, Poe's lawyer George Garcia, called on David to just accept his defeat.

“That is a clear case of sour graping. He should be man enough to accept defeat and admit mistakes,” Garcia said in a statement.

In its decision, the SET said that under the 1935 Constitution as well as the 1987 Constitution, Poe is considered a natural-born Filipino citizen.

“We rule that respondent is a natural-born citizen under the 1935 Constitution and continue to be a natural-born citizen as defined under the 1987 Constitution, as she is a 'citizen of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect (her) Philippine citizenship',” a portion of the SET ruling read.

The tribunal said that while it was established that Poe is a foundling who was abandoned by her parents, the petitioner was not able to prove that her parents are not Filipinos.

“The fact that petitioner was able to show that respondent is a foundling did not necessarily carry with it the proof that respondent's parents were/are not citizens of the Philippines,” the SET said.

“On the contrary, it did not exclude the possibility that her parents are citizens of the Philippines,” the tribunal added. -Elizabeth Marcelo/NB, GMA News