MANILA – The respondents in the petition of Senator Grace Poe, which had sought to dismiss the Commission on Elections' decision to disqualify her from the presidential race, are joining forces to overturn the Supreme Court ruling declaring the neophyte senator eligible to run for President.

Dr. Antonio Contreras, Atty. Estrella Elamparo, former University of the East College of Law Dean Amado Valdez, and Atty. Manuelito Luna, lawyer of former Senator Francisco Tatad, faced the media on Thursday and revealed their plan to appeal their case.

"Sa palagay po namin ay may sapat na dahilan para baligtarin ng Korte Suprema ang naunang desisyon. Bagamat nirerespeto namin, tingin namin ay karapatan namin na kontrahin ang desisyon," said Atty. Luna.

The group has decided to file a joint motion for reconsideration on the SC decision.

Elamparo said that they have the right to appeal and they expect the high court to rule on the matter before the May 9 elections.

Elamparo, citing the dissenting opinion of SC Association Justice Antonio Carpio, said the high court did not really reach a majority vote with respect to the natural-born status of Poe.

READ: Carpio's dissenting opinion on Poe vs. Comelec, et al.

"Sa Justices, marami nagsasabing 'di sya qualified, di sya natural-born, and yet sa dispositive portion, sinasabi na siya ay qualified," said Elamparo.

Contreras, a political scientist, told reporters that when he read the decision, he was already set on simply respecting the decision that allowed Poe to run. He, however, decided to still challenge the same decision before the en banc.

"Sabi ko sa sarili ko, I'm going to lose respect to myself kung 'di ko kokontrahin ang desisyon," said Contreras.

Poe, for her part, said she is unfazed by the her opponents' latest move, saying the high court's decision is clear.

"Hindi ako natatakot sa kanila, malinaw ang maging desisyon, siyam ang pumabor," she said.

For Poe, the more important decision that everyone should be occupied with now is the one in May.

"Ang importante ay kung anong desisyon ng taong bayan. Iyun ang pinakamatibay na ebidensya," she said.

CONSTITUTION DISHONORED?

Luna stressed that the dispositive portion of the SC decision underscored the importance of a ''majority vote'' to validate the decision.

"Ang ating Supreme Court na mahal natin, dinishonor po niya ang Constitution. Napakasakit po nito," said Luna.

Luna added they will highlight in the appeal the supposed error in the decision. He fears that the SC decision, if allowed to become final or not reversed, will ''perpetuate a lie.''

Elamparo, for her part, called Poe's candidacy a mockery of the electoral system.

"Mas masahol pa siya sa nuisance candidate dahil karamihan ng nuisance ay natural-born at hindi citizen by probability," said Elamparo.

They believe there is still sufficient time for the SC to decide on their appeal, even though elections is just a month and a half away.

Despite the looming Holy Week, the group is confident that discussion can be made by the justices during its Baguio session. Justices, during the dry and humid season, traditionally hold office at the summer capital of the Philippines.

The group said they will go over the motion for reconsideration within the day to iron out refinements and will proceed to the SC on Friday to file the appeal.

SWS SURVEY

The mood turned tense and voices became passionate when the speakers at a press conference were sought for reaction over a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which revealed that 66% of Filipinos were found to be in favor of the SC ruling.

Luna said the survey result has no bearing on their appeal.

"Ang ating batas ay hindi beauty contest. This is not a talent contest kasi kung ganito sistema natin, many would get away with their crime. This would not be resolved in that way," said Luna.

Elamparo, for her part, fears that the survey is being used as propaganda to condition the minds of the people.

The survey, called "SWS-TV5 Bilang Pilipino mobile survey", found that 66% of the respondents agree while 15% disagree with the SC decision. Another 16% were undecided, while 4% answered ''don't know'' to the question: ''Gaano po kayo sumasang-ayon o hindi sumasang-ayon sa desisyong ito ng Korte Suprema sa kandidatura ni Grace Poe?''

SWS said this gives a net agreement score of +51 (% strongly/somewhat agree minus % somewhat/strongly disagree), classified by SWS as very strong.