Manila: The Philippine presidential palace said it had no role in the national elections body’s decision to disqualify Senator Grace Poe from the presidential race, stressing the latter can still appeal her case.

“The Comelec [Commission on Elections] is an independent constitutional commission. They went through the process of confirmation. We urge everyone to respect the rule of law,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday.

In a 34-page decision, the Comelec’s Second Division on Tuesday disqualified Poe for falling short of the required number of months residency in the Philippines to enable her to run for the country’s highest office.

The Comelec decision was based on a petition by a lawyer, Estrella Elamparo, who said Poe misled the electorate when she also claimed she is a natural-born Filipino.

Lacierda said despite a decision by the three-man Comelec 2nd division to disqualify her, Poe still has remedies available to her.

“They have an opportunity to avail of the process, exhaust all remedies available to them,” Lacierda said.

Poe, who has been leading the presidential race surveys, said she would appeal before the Comelec en banc or the entire six-member panel.

In news interviews following her disqualification by the Comelec, Poe said she suspects that two of her rivals in the presidential race were behind the move to disqualify her.

“They were really bent on edging me out, that is part of their strategy,” she said, adding that those behind the move to disqualify her were those who would stand to gain from her disqualification.

She did not name who these rivals are but former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Vice-President Jejomar Binay are closely tailing her in the surveys.

Poe also said that while she had been disappointed in the decision of Comelec’s 2nd Division, “this is not the end of the process.”

“We will continue to fight for the rights of foundlings and the fundamental right of the people to choose their leaders. I maintain that I am a natural born Filipino and have complied with the ten-year residency requirement based on settled applicable jurisprudence,” she said.

While Poe appears to be determined to continue on with her candidacy, time may not be on her side.

The Comelec has given candidates running in the May 2016 elections until December 15, 2015 to finalise their candidacy. The reason for this short period is because it takes several weeks for the ballots showing all candidates to be printed by the National Printing Office.

According to Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, the Comelec en banc will have to meet to finalise the official list of candidates which probably could still include Poe.

Poe, who had been appointed chief of the film censor’s board by Aquino in 2010, run and topped the elections for Senator in 2013. Observers said her identification as adopted daughter of the late Philippine screen idol Fernando Poe had given her an advantage.

But like the younger Poe, the father also had to contend with citizenship questions when he ran for the presidency in 2004.

He lost by a narrow margin to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in elections of that year.