Goodbye, Mrs. Llamanzares

SANTA Banana, I can’t believe it!

Mitsubishi Motors keeps on denying more than 100 cases of “sudden unintended acceleration” of Montero Sport. Adding insult to injury (literally), Mitsubishi has come out with big advertisements in major newspapers extolling the amenities of the vehicle.

The controversy may have been investigated by the Department of Trade and Industry, but Mitsubishi continues to be in a state of denial, saying that only a reliable third party can put the row to rest. But, my gulay, until then, people may be harmed, even killed!

Isn’t it about time that Malacañang stepped into the picture? President Aquino should have all Montero Sport units be recalled.

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As I write this column to beat my deadline, the Comelec en banc has not yet made its final decision to cancel the Certificate of Candidacy of Mrs. Mary Grace Natividad Poe Llamanzares for president.

Logically, since no less than five Comelec commissioners (that’s more than the majority out of seven commissioners) had already disqualified Mrs. Llamanzares for “misrepresentation” (translated: lying) on her citizenship and residency issues, the Comelec en banc cannot do otherwise but also disqualify her. 

Unless, of course, a miracle happens.

When the Comelec rules en banc, that’s supposed to be final and executory except if the respondent chooses to go to the Supreme Court to claim that the Comelec ruled “in excess of its jurisdiction and abuse of discretion,” which is a  broad claim. Thus, we go back to the Supreme Court for the final adjudication of Mrs. Llamanzares’ issue on residency and citizenship, according to the Constitution.

Considering the fact that the 15 members of the Supreme Court are all lawyers and know the fundamental law of the land, we can presume that their decision will be more or less like what the three associate justices of the Supreme Court said in their minority ruling at the Senate Electoral tribunal: that Mrs. Llamanzares lacked the 10-year residency requirement  and that constitutionally speaking, she is not natural-born. 

The three justices of the high court were Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, as chairman, and Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Teresita Leonardo de Castro as two of the nine-member SET.

Mrs. Llamanzares and her lawyers may try to disqualify Justices Carpio, Brion and De Castro or may try to have them inhibited, but there’s nothing in law that the respondent can cite for their disqualification. Thus, with three Supreme Court justices ruling that Mrs. Llamanzares had failed to prove her 10-year residency and her claim to be natural born, only five other justices more are needed to disqualify Mrs. Llamanzares.

There are, however, some questions that have to be answered. Will the name of Mrs. Llamanzares still be included as candidate for president in the ballot? I  can almost predict that the Supreme Court cannot promulgate its decision before the printing of the ballot this coming January. If not, the name of Mrs. Llamanzares as presidential candidate remains, but will be considered stray ballots if she is eventually disqualified. My gulay, this would in effect disenfranchise those who would vote for Grace Poe.

This is why the Supreme Court should rule on the residency and citizenship issues of Mrs. Llamanzares for the presidency.

But, it would be interesting to know why Mrs. Llamanzares decided to run for the presidency in 2016, instead of just waiting for 2022 when her chances to be president are greater. Now she is a neophyte senator with only three years experience in legislation, severely lacking experience in governance.

Who convinced her to run thinking that the over 20 million votes she got in 2013 would continue to be hers in 2016? Was it her running mate, Senator Chiz Escudero? He must have told her that since he is the frontrunner in poll surveys, he will surely win as vice president at the beck and call of the President if he is needed. In effect, Chiz will be the one running the country if both he and Mrs. Llamanzares get elected.

For Mrs. Llamanzares to think that the 20 million votes she got in 2013 will continue to be with her in 2016 is naivete of the highest order. Running for the Senate and topping it is entirely different from running for the presidency. Senator Loren Legarda knows this only too well since she ran for the vice presidency twice and lost despite topping the senatorial race.

Oh, yes, another thing about Mrs. Llamanzares. She filed CoC for the Senate in 2013 claiming that she was a resident of the Philippines for only six years and six months. She never corrected it, claiming it only as an honest mistake.

Santa Banana, it’s unbelievable for a person like Mrs. Llamanzares not to correct her CoC under oath since she’s intelligent  enough. My gulay, the only reason I can guess is that she never thought of running for the presidency in 2016 when the Constitution requires 10 years’ residency in the Philippines. Now, her ambition has gotten the better of her.

Again, Mrs. Llamanzares lied when she claimed she was a resident of the Philippines for 10 years and 11 months when she filed her CoC for president. The commissioners of the Second and First Division of the Comelec used “misrepresented.” My gulay, that’s lying in any language!

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This is a caveat for men and women at shopping malls here in Metro Manila or elsewhere.

Scammers who have been victimizing bank depositors are now using more sophisticated gadgets. All they have to do is place their gadgets on the bags of the women and on the back pockets of men especially when the elevators are crowded.