Cayetano is deal breaker in 5-4 SET

vote for Poe?

According to Rappler sources, Senator Pia Cayetano initially found Grace
Poe's submitted documents 'messy'
Rappler.com

Published 1:33 PM, November 20, 2015

Updated 12:19 PM, November 21, 2015
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'MESSY' DOCUMENTS. Sources say Senator Pia Cayetano was originally

expected to vote for the disqualification of Grace Poe. Rappler file
photos

The close call during the meeting of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) on
Friday, November 20, led to an emotional victory for Grace Poe, who has
hurdled for now only one of the many disqualification cases she is
facing both as a senator and presidential candidate in the 2016
elections.
But we learned that the voting could've gone the other way around: 5-4,
with majority of the tribunal in favor of disqualifying Poe as a seated
senator of the Philippines.
Apparently, it was another lady senator who turned the votes around.
(READ: Senate Tribunal denies disqualification case vs Poe )

According to a SET source, Senator Pia Cayetano was originally expected

to vote against Poe.
Remember that before the SET oral arguments on September 21, Poe already
submitted 22 documents to back her claim that she is a natural-born
Filipino. Her camp also submitted a 163-page memorandum after the oral
arguments.
But despite the voluminous documents, the source said Cayetano a
lawyer by profession still found Poe's papers "messy."
What changed her mind?
Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, only Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and
Supreme Court (SC) justices Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro,
and Arturo Brion circulated their opinions.
Cayetano and fellow senators Bam Aquino, Cynthia Villar, and Loren
Legarda submitted their separate opinions on D-Day, while Senator Nancy
Binay concurred with the 3 justices. (READ: Senators explain votes on Grace Poe's
disqualification case )
Even
vote
2016
said

if Binay did not submit an opinion, she was already expected to

for the disqualification of Poe, one of her father's rivals in the
presidential elections. But in concurring with the justices, she
she only voted "based on the provisions of the Constitution."

Meanwhile, another SET source said Carpio and De Castro were for
disqualifying Poe "from the start."
If Cayetano stood by her earlier decision, the 5-4 vote could've
unseated Poe as senator. But the first SET source said Cayetano must
have decided instead to take a position that protects her adopted son
Lucas, whom she found in 2011 at a children's home.
According to Sotto, who first announced the results of Tuesday's
meeting, the majority voted in favor of Poe as a recognition of the
rights of an adopted child. (READ: Senators explain votes on Grace Poe's
disqualification case )
Hours after the decision, Cayetano released a statement:

As a member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal that just rendered a 5-4

decision denying the petition to disqualify Senator Grace Poe as a
senator, I have to decline interviews and won't make comments for now.
The case is still pending with us given that the petitioner has a right
to file a Motion for Reconsideration.
Rappler still tried to reach out to her for comments, but she has not

answered text messages and calls as of this posting.

Whatever the final decision of the tribunal may be, this
disqualification case is still expected to reach the Supreme Court. The
SET source said Cayetano, as a lawyer, knows the SC will eventually rule
on the legal side of the case.
After the camp of petitioner Rizalito David files a motion for
reconsideration, the tribunal will convene again to decide on the case
with finality, hopefully before the printing of ballots in December.
The final decision will have a bearing not only on a separate
citizenship case against Poe at the Commission on Elections (Comelec),
but even on her presidential bid for the 2016 elections.
To date, the presidential poll front runner is facing 4 disqualification
cases before the Comelec , with 3 of the petitioners questioning Poe's
natural-born status.
The other case questions her qualification for president based on the
minimum residency requirement that she allegedly didn't meet. Poe's
residency is also an issue in David's Comelec case, but it has long been
dropped from the SET case, even before the oral arguments began.
David's camp has cried foul over the SET decision, saying the 5 senators
in the majority voted "based on political considerations."
In a statement Friday, November 20, Poe's counsel George Garcia told
David to move on and look for an "incontrovertible proof" that Poe is not
natural-born instead of criticizing the tribunal. Chay F. Hofilea
and Jee Y. Geronimo/Rappler.com
Filed under:2016 elections Grace Poe Pia Cayetano SET Senate citizenship
disqualification natural born citizenship presidential elections senators #PHVote
Senate Electoral Tribunal
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Roxas-Robredo administration:
'Consultative, participative'
LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo, are
also asked: What do they plan to do if they lose in 2016?

Bea Cupin
@beacupin
Published 8:00 AM, December 13, 2015
Updated 8:00 AM, December 13, 2015

'CONSULTATIVE, PARTICIPATIVE.' LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas and running

mate Leni Robredo answer questions from the audience during CNN
Philippines' Town Hall on December 10, 2015. Photo from Mar Roxas'
official Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines The ruling Liberal Party (LP)s presidential and

vice presidential bets promised a consultative and participative
decision-making process in government should they win in the 2016
national elections.
LP standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II and his running-mate, Camarines Sur
3rd District Representative Leni Robredo, were asked about their
approach to decision-making" if elected next year, at CNN Philippines'
Town Hall on Thursday, December 10.
I'm more consultative, I've been trained to do that. My husband was
also that way. It's giving a voice to so many people. I believe that the
best solutions can be arrived at by listening to so many voices, said

Robredo, whose husband, the late interior secretary Jesse Robredo, was
known for involving civic society and peoples groups in governance
when he was Naga City mayor.
Robredo had the same approach when she was elected representative of her
district. (READ: For politicians, lessons from Jesse Robredo )
I think that consensus building, or consultative or participative
decision, making is the way to go, so you get the best ideas, said
Roxas.
The LP, one of the countrys oldest political parties, lists
participatory democracy as among its core principles.
The current administration, led by LP chairman President Benigno Aquino
III, also prides itself in supposedly listening to its "bosses," the
Filipino people. Among the more concrete government programs which
involve consultation is the bottom-up budgetting (BUB) program, wherein
non-governmental organizations and peoples' groups have a say in which
projects they want funded by the national government.
Roxas and Robredo want to increase the budget allocation for the BUB
process should they win in 2016. (READ: Roxas wants P100B 'Walang Iwanan'
fund for LGU, barangay projects )
Consultative but...
While consultative governance is a priority, Roxas said making a
decision rests on leaders. At the end of the day, somebody has to make
a decision, and I'm prepared to make those decisions. The easy ones
won't even get to the presidency [because]...they're supposed to be
attended to by the lower levels, he said.
Roxas cited the countrys ongoing dispute against China in the South
China Sea (West Philippine Sea) as an instance wherein the buck
ultimately stops with the president.
Aquino, who is endorsing both Roxas and Robredo, pushed through with a
case against China before a United Nations-back tribunal , despite the qualms of
many in the country, including politicians.
Said Roxas of the case versus China: We have to protect our territory.
So the President made that decision and I would have made the same
decision...of filing that case. So, you take in all the best inputs that
you can, and at the end of the day, it's pass your papers time ready
or not and you have to make that decision, and I will make those
decisions.
Roxas' critics have accused the LP standard-bearer of being an

indecisive leader.
Post-2016
The Town Hall, the first forum where Roxas and Robredo were invited as a
tandem, also featured lighter questions from audience members both
online and offline.
What are their plans if they don't win the presidency or vice
presidency? asked one Facebook user. Both Roxas and Robredo said they
would return to private life.
Nung kumandidato ako talaga, yung plano ko3 years lang ako sa
pulitika. Talagang nakalaan sa akin na magpapahinga sana after 2016
pero na-overtake ngevents, said Robredo, who is on her first term as a
congresswoman.
(When I ran, the plan was to be in politics for only 3 years. The plan
was really to rest after 2016 but that was overtaken by events.)
For his part, Roxas said: Babalik din sa pribado pero paratingmay
consciousness na kabahagi tayo.We are our brother's keeper, di ba? So
hindi naman pwede na pumasok sa kuweba at magmukmokor maging malungkot
na lang. Kung hindi tayo magwagi ay balik sa pribado, mas tahimik na
buhay pero parating kabahagi;part of the bigger fabric."
(Ill go back to private life but always with the consciousness of
being part of something bigger. We are our brothers keeper, right? You
cant just go inside a cave and sulk, or get depressed. If I dont
win, Ill go back to the private sector, a more quiet life, but Ill
always be part of the bigger fabric).
What if Robredo wins, but Roxas loses?
Sana hindi mangyari,
president if Secretary
because I think I will
the president), said
composed mostly of FEU

kasi I think I will be a most effective vice

Mar is the president (I hope that wont happen
be a most effective vice president if Roxas is
Robredo, elicting applause from the audience,
students.

Robredo added: When Secretary Mar was asking if I would consider being
his running mate, inexplain niya sa akin kung bakit ako yung choice,
kasiI was asking him bakit naman ako? Andami-daming pinagpipilian,
bakit ako? Inexplain nya na ifi-fill ko yung kulang dun sa puzzle and
that is my long years of serving the grass roots saka yung local na
experience.
(When Secretary Mar was asking if I would consider being his running
mate, he explained to me why I was his choice because I was asking him,
why me when there are many others to choose from. He told me that I am

the missing piece of the puzzle my long years of serving the

grassroots and my experience in local government.)
Although Robredo is a political neophyte, her experience in the public
sector has been vast. While her husband was mayor of Naga, Robredo was
part of a law firm that catered to the needs of the indigent, the poor,
and farmers from the Bicol region.
It took several weeks before Robredo finally accepted Roxas' and the LPs
offer to run for vice president. In a speech during the announcement of
her candidacy, Robredo said she was unable to refuse the call to
serve.
Roxas and Robredo also have personal ties. Roxas, who was once Aquinos
transportation chief, is close friends with Robredos late husband, who
was then interior secretary.
Roxas eventually took over the post after Jesse Robredo died in a plane
crash.
The late interior secretary was also part of the Aquino-Roxas campaign
in the 2010 elections, where Roxas lost to Vice President Jejomar Binay.
Rappler.com

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