MANILA, 19 February 2004 — Security forces have been put on alert amid fears of unrest over the possible disqualification of film star and leading candidate Fernando Poe Jr. from the Philippines’ May 10 presidential election.
The Supreme Court is to start hearing arguments today over a petition against Poe, who is polling strongly against incumbent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. His opponents allege he is not a natural-born Filipino — and therefore not eligible to be head of state.
Pro-Poe supporters said they would not accept an adverse court decision against their candidate.
About 2,300 police will guard the court and the nearby Malaca?ang presidential palace, said national police chief Hermogenes Ebdane. “We will meet force with force. Although our response will be calibrated, anyone who would incite others to commit sedition will be arrested,” he said.
The military has ordered about 1,200 soldiers to stand by.
Thousands of supporters of Poe, popularly called FPJ, plan to march to the Supreme Court when the case starts, said Ronald Lumbao, who heads the pro-Poe group, People’s Movement Against Poverty.
Members of the group stormed the presidential palace in May 2001, calling for Arroyo’s resignation and the reinstatement of former leader Joseph Estrada, who was ousted months earlier over corruption allegations. Estrada is a fellow actor and Poe’s close friend.
Another group of Poe supporters plans to link arms and form a kilometers-long (miles-long) human chain across the capital, ending at the court’s premises.
“We cannot stand idly by to witness our new hope for a brighter future for the masses melt like wax just because of trumped-up charges,” Lumbao said.
Maximum Tolerance
In Malaca?ang, the president urged Poe supporters to remain calm and allow the high court to rule without pressure.
“We call on the organizers and the leaders of those who are planning to stage a rally to police their own ranks,” Arroyo said in a statement, adding that police would exercise “maximum tolerance.”
Poe, through his campaign spokesman Rep. Francis Escudero, also urged his supporters to allow the high court to make a ruling in peace.
“I would like to make an appeal to the supporters of FPJ to remain calm and steadfast,” Escudero said. “Have faith and belief in our justice system, as well as the magistrates of the Supreme Court, that justice will be served and that the truth will be the basis of whatever decision will be made.”
Deputy Court Administrator Ismael Khan Jr. reiterated that the tribunal would “not be intimidated and influenced by these mass actions.” He said the court was ready for the oral arguments, which might even continue well into the night and tomorrow because of the number of petitioners, respondents and amici curiae scheduled to speak.
The Commission on Election last month ruled that lawyer Victorino Fornier failed to prove his claim that Poe was not a natural-born Filipino and allowed him to campaign. Fornier, however, took the case to the Supreme Court.
Poe, 64, was born in the Philippines, where children receive citizenship only if at least one of their married parents is Filipino. If they are born to a single mother, they must take their mother’s citizenship.
Fornier argued that Poe’s father did not have Philippine citizenship because he was descended from Spanish subjects living here during Spanish colonial rule. He also claimed Poe was born out of wedlock — and therefore had to take his mother’s American citizenship — because the father allegedly married another woman earlier.
Besides petitioners Fornier, Maria Jeanette Tecson and Zoilo Velez, the lawyers of Poe and the Comelec will also present their case before the court in full bench.
The tribunal will also hear the legal opinions of the amici curiae-retired Justice Vicente Mendoza; Fr. Joaquin Bernas, a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission; Merlin Magallona, former law dean of the University of the Philippines; and UP law professor Ruben Balane.
Opposition senators expressed confidence that the high court would eventually decide in favor of Poe. “We are confident that the Supreme Court will resolve the citizenship harassment issue on its merits,” Sen. Gregorio Honasan, who serves as Poe’s chief security adviser, said in a phone interview.
“If this does not happen, it will be a sad thing. And when people are sad, hungry, and homeless, that’s a big problem,” he added in Filipino.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III, Poe’s campaign manager, said the opposition was “confident that the high court knows the law.” (Additional Input from Agencies)
