In a forum with Capampangans in Media Inc. (CAMI) here, Bello said that in such a scenario, the winning vice president, and not the presidential candidate who garnered the second highest votes, would become president.
“Then Congress can call for special elections for vice president,” said Bello who was justice secretary during the administrations of former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos. He said that until a new vice president is elected, the Senate president would serve in the post.
Bello dismissed the “vox populi, vox Dei” principle that would exonerate politicians from tight situations once elected into office.
The Commission on Elections recently asked the Supreme Court to throw out the petitions of Poe seeking the reversal of the poll body’s decision disqualifying her from the presidential race.
In its answer to Poe’s two petitions challenging the Comelec’s disqualification resolutions, the Comelec cited her “deliberate” attempt to mislead the electorate by declaring herself a natural-born Filipino and a 10-year resident prior to the 2016 elections.
Last Dec. 28, Poe asked the Supreme Court to stop the Comelec from canceling her certificate of candidacy (COC) for President after the poll body’s First and Second Divisions granted four petitions for her disqualification which the Comelec en banc upheld. She secured a temporary restraining order on the same day.
At the same time, Silvestre also dismissed the possibility of Liberal Party presidential aspirant Mar Roxas winning the presidency by default amid disqualification proceedings against Poe and Rodrigo Duterte.
“Vice President Jejomar Binay has immunity from suit so he will definitely be a presidential candidate in the coming elections,” he noted.
