A known crusader has petitioned both the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify an elected Nueva Ecija congresswoman “for faking her way to become a member of Congress through bogus documents.”
According to Philip Piccio, of the Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) coalition and who made headlines when he led protest actions against a ‘bankrupt’ pre-need firm several years back, showed documents to substantiate his claims that Rep. Rosanna ‘Ria’ Vergara (NE-3rd District) is an American citizen and had allegedly lied on her citizenship to run and win against ex-Governor Aurelio Umali in last May 9 polls.
A registered voter in the province, Piccio said he already submitted before the poll body and HRET the documents specifically the alleged falsified oath of allegiance and a record from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) which confirmed that there was no petition that was applied by Vergara for dual citizenship or issuance of an identification certificate.
He said that Vergara, from her citizenship to her signature, had allegedly used spurious documents to meet the constitutional requirement to run for public office.
“All her documents as a dual citizen are fake. Instead of being punished, the Comelec turned a blind eye on the evidence and did not consider the supervening event, the discovery of the fake documents which was never mentioned in its earlier resolution,” Piccio said.
Piccio particularly cited the alleged notarized Oath of Allegiance to the Philippines in 2006 and an Identification Certificate supposedly issued by BI in November 2006.
He said the Office of the Clerk of Court in Manila certified that there was no oath of allegiance submitted before them and the signature of the Notary Public was forged.
Likewise, the BI certified that no application or petition by Vergara for dual citizenship was received or processed by the agency.
“Ria Vergara has made a mockery of our laws, our Constitution and our whole electoral system.
“She made fools of the people, of the Novo Ecijano electorate as well as the Immigration Bureau.
“It is unfortunate that the Comelec did not see this,” he lamented. Piccio added: “I have manifested this discovery to the Comelec and have filed a motion for reconsideration.
“Also, I have submitted these pieces of documentary evidence to the Court of Appeals which is currently reviewing a lower court decision.
“We are praying that justice, despite the seemingly illogical reasoning of the Comelec, would eventually prevail.”
Just last July 11, Piccio filed a petition for quo warranto with the HRET where he submitted all pertinent documents to prove that Vergara is not a Filipino citizen as she claims.
He has expressed confidence that the concerned authorities especially the Comelec will act on his petition with dispatch “since all of us would not want an American citizen to sit as a member of Philippine Congress.” GOOD RIDDANCE/ARLIE CALALO
