Poe tells critics: It’s up to you if you don’t believe SC decision

CANDELARIA, Quezon —  Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero shrugged off Wednesday the talk about the possible impeachment of Supreme Court justices who voted to reverse her disqualification from the 2016 presidential race.

Poe said she doesn’t want to prolong the issue regarding her eligibility to run for president since the Supreme Court has already decided on the matter.

“All of those legal rumblings and legal questions, I believe, [were] already settled by the Supreme Court. It’s up to them (critics) if they don’t believe it. In victory, there should be magnanimity. Ayoko nang patulan sila,” she said at a press conference.

Nevertheless, Poe believes there is no reason for the magistrates who voted in her favor to be impeached.

“Hindi naman siguro dapat magkaroon ng basehan para i-impeach yung ating mga mahistrado. Ngunit sabi ko nga, kung sinuman ang mga nasa likod nito, hindi ako maghihiganti sa kanila dahil sa mga ginawa nila,” she said.

Talk swirled about the possibility that impeachment complaints will be filed against the magistrates who sided with Poe by some of the petitioners who wanted her disqualified after the Supreme Court voted 9-6 to remove all legal obstacles to her presidential bid.

It was Dean Amado Valdez, one of the petitioners against Poe, who said that he is planning to appeal the Supreme Court ruling as well as studying if the decision of the nine justices to side with Poe can be used as grounds for impeachment against them.

"If we will have a clear case of culpable violation of the Constitution tsaka betrayal of public trust, these are two grounds of impeachment, then we have to pursue that kung kinakailangan because it's a legal remedy in the Constitution," Valdez was quoted by GMA News as saying.

Escudero, a lawyer, said the election commissioners who voted to cancel Poe’s certificate of candidacy for president are the ones who should be liable for supposedly committing impeachable offenses.

“Kung may betrayal man o paglabag sa batas, yung Comelec commissioners na bumoto laban kay Grace ang gumawa noon,” he said.

Escudero noted that a Supreme Court magistrate has yet to be impeached over his decision because the tribunal is considered to be the final arbiter of the law. — RSJ, GMA News