LP to Chiz Escudero: This isn't about your 'whims'

MANILA, Philippines – The spokesman for the Liberal Party (LP)-led ruling coalition on Monday, January 11, lashed out at vice presidential candidate Senator Francis Escudero, after the latter questioned the motives behind elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon's recent moves.

“Ang konsepto ata ni Chiz sa demokrasya, nakukuha niya lagi ang gusto niya. Sobrang OK ang SET at SC ‘pag nasunod sila, tapos sobrang mali ‘pag hindi,” Gutierrez said in a statement released to media.

(Senator Escudero’s concept of democracy seems to be always getting what he wants. The Senate Electoral Tribunal and the Supreme Court are okay if [Escudero and his camp] get what they want, but very wrong when they don’t.)

Last week, cracks in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) became public after Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista disowned comments made by Guanzon before the Supreme Court in relation to a case involving presidential bet Senator Grace Poe. Escudero is the running mate of Poe in the 2016 elections.

Speaking to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Escudero questioned Guanzon’s motives, pointing out that the Comelec commissioner shouldn’t appear to be defending a politician, given her position. (READ: Comelec exec slams chief for ‘showing partisanship’)

“She cannot and should not be the lawyer of anyone and clearly, she was not authorized by the Comelec and did not represent the Comelec when she filed HER comment, so who was she representing or lawyering for?” Escudero is quoted by the Inquirer as saying.

Escudero should veer away from making these comments, Gutierrez said. “Mali ‘yun, hindi itinatag ang mga institusyon na ito para kunsuntihin ang mga kapritso niya," he said. (It’s wrong. Those institutions were not created to consent to his whims.)

Echoing the words of LP standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II, Gutierrez said the apparent tiff in the poll body is “internal" to the Comelec. “Igagalang namin ang mapagpasyahan nila tungkol dito (We will respect whatever decision they make),” he said.

Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian had earlier called on Bautista to put the Comelec “in order.”

“We believe that the actions of Commissioner Guanzon are wrong as she is usurping the powers reserved for the en banc,” Gatchalian also said.

Guanzon is perceived to be a Roxas ally.

The Comelec en banc on Monday decided that it would file a new comment in the Poe case before the SC.

Poe, who leads some presidential preference surveys, faces disqualification cases because she supposedly failed to meet the residency requirements for presidential bets and because she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen.

The SET, composed of lawmakers and SC justices, ruled against the petition to disqualify Poe. The Comelec’s two divisions, however, decided to cancel Poe’s candidacy because she supposedly failed the two requirements for presidential aspirants.

Before the holiday break began, the Comelec en banc confirmed the two divisions’ earlier decisions, barring Poe from the 2016 presidential elections. The SC has since granted Poe’s petition to temporarily stop the poll body from enforcing its order. – Rappler.com