With five votes favorable to Senator Grace Poe on the disqualification case in the disqualification case filed against her by the 2013 defeated senatorial candidate Rizalito David from the Ang Kapatiran party. Senate Electoral Tribunal members Senators Vicente Sotto III, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar, and Benigno Aquino IV voted in favor of her to be recognize the rights of an adopted child.
Meanwhile, SET members who voted against her include Senior Justice Antonio Carpio, chairman; Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Associate Justice Arturo Brion, and Senator Nancy Binay.
The news was confirmed in Rappler, according to their report the confirmation of the vote was made by Villar. With SET’s favor to Poe, it will have a huge impact on the presidential bid of the senator on the 2016 election whereas her status as a Filipino was questioned by the disqualification cases filed against her.
In the Philippine Constitution, aspiring candidates for congress, senate, and executive posts must be natural-born citizens while local posts can be naturalized citizens.
