Press Release
January 19, 2016

CHIZ TWITS TATAD OVER PETITION VS. POE AD

"Pati ba naman TV ad gustong ipa-DQ?"

This was the response of leading vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero to the petition filed by former Sen. Francisco Tatad asking the Supreme Court to take action on Sen. Grace Poe's latest TV ad telling the public that she is not yet disqualified from the presidential race.

Escudero said Tatad's petition aims to deprive Poe of her right to defend herself against deliberate attempts to mislead the public about the real status of her candidacy.

"Her (Poe's) latest ad tends to counter the disinformation drive launched by her opponents who are telling voters they should not vote for her because she's already disqualified, when in truth, she's still in the race because the Supreme Court has yet to rule on her petitions against the Comelec," Escudero said.

Poe has a pending appeal with the high court against the two rulings of the Commission on Elections canceling her certificate of candidacy for president allegedly due to "material misrepresentations" in her citizenship and residency.

The Comelec acted on the petitions seeking to disqualify Poe, one of which was filed by Tatad.

Tatad is a known ally of Vice-President Jejomar Binay, who is also running for president in the May elections.

Escudero lashed out at Tatad for picking on Poe while tolerating Binay, who used his political ads to respond to the corruption allegations hurled against the vice president instead of facing a series of investigations conducted by the Senate.

"'Pag sa iba okay lang na gamitin ang political ad para sagutin ang mga akusasyong pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan pero 'pag kay Sen. Grace na nilalabanan ang maling impormasyon tungkol sa kanyang kandidatura, e hindi pwede? Hindi naman po siguro tama 'yun," the veteran lawmaker said.

Poe's camp recently released a 30-seconder TV ad explaining to the public that she is still a candidate for president in the May polls because while the Comelec disqualified her, the SC has yet to decide with finality on the matter.

Shot in a sari-sari store setting, the ad features two males and two females talking about Poe's disqualification cases and how they are similar to the case of her father, the late Fernando Poe Jr., in the 2004 presidential election.

The TV ad was Poe's camp response to a disinformation campaign by the forces behind efforts to disqualify her, which was meant to destroy her credibility and ruin her chances in the coming elections.

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