Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Two days after filing a petition to unseat Sen. Grace Poe before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), former senatorial aspirant Rizalito “Lito” David told the media that no one was pulling the strings to make him seek the lawmaker’s ouster.
In a press conference in Quezon City on Saturday (August 8), David said the move was not related to the next presidential elections — as he had been raising the issue since two years ago.
He said the move was prompted by a desire to set a proper precedent because the issue can crop up again in succeeding elections.
“Para kung may similar cases na mangyayari in the future, meron na tayong pagbabasehan kasi bagong-bago ito,” David said.
[Translation: “So that if a similar case happens in the future, we have something to (base our decision on) because this is something really new.”]
Related: Palace hints at who’s behind attempt to unseat Poe
This developed after he filed a 16-page quo warranto petition to challenge Poe’s eligibility to run for Senate in the last mid-term elections — citing the lawmaker’s citizenship and residency requirements, or lack thereof, as of 2013.
Also present at the presser was former Sen. Franciso “Kit” Tatad — who used to employ David. He said he was not the mastermind behind the move although he agreed with its objective.
“Because she had no known parents, she was a foundling. A foundling has no nationality, because you don’t know the nationality of the parents,” Tatad said.
For his part, former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras — who had openly named Vice President Jejomar Binay as his “preferred presidential bet” — added that a foundling, technically, would have no country given her biological parents were unknown, thus, making her Filipino heritage a mere presumption.
Paras also said that Poe was still using her American passport even after reacquiring her Filipino citizenship.
Meanwhile, Atty. Nelson Victorino, Poe’s chief of staff, told CNN Philippines also on Saturday that the accusations were baseless and unfair to all those who never knew their parents.
