Poe a naturalized Pinoy – Carpio

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Grace Poe, being a foundling, is not a natural-born but a naturalized citizen and not qualified for an electoral post, unless she proves her biological parents are Filipinos, the chairman of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) said yesterday.

During the oral argument on the disqualification case filed by Rizalito David against Poe, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio cited the principle of jus sanguini (right of blood) under the Constitution, which requires either of Poe’s parents to be a Filipino citizen for her to be considered natural-born.

LISTEN: Justice Carpio's line of questioning on Grace Poe's status

“To be natural-born, you must show blood relation,” Carpio said.

He said international conventions of which the Philippines is a signatory allowed foundlings in the country to be Filipino citizens, which is considered naturalization of citizenship.

“That’s when you grant passport to foundling. That gives a foundling citizenship, which is naturalized citizenship – not natural-born… Senator Poe is at least a citizen of the Philippines,” Carpio said.

SC Associate Justice Arturo Brion, another member of the SET, agreed with Carpio’s argument.

“Because Poe’s parents are unknown, she must now prove that (they are Filipinos),” Brion said.

DNA test

Poe is seriously searching for her biological parents, her lawyer Alex Poblador told the SET hearing.

“We are already in the process of conducting DNA test for probable parents of the senator,” Poblador said.

“It’s in the process in the hope that we can determine (my roots),” Poe said.

Poe said the alleged relatives of her parents, whom she did not identify, volunteered to subject themselves for DNA testing.

“All I can say is that they are private persons and if they are really my relatives, I am very happy,” she said, describing her relatives as “decent” and “very kind” individuals. 

“We have the benefit of science so we are trying to exhaust that advantage. If not, there is still internationally accepted principles of law that is applied in our country,” she added.

Poblador told reporters in a chance interview the results of the DNA test might be available after two weeks, adding Poe herself would make the announcement.

He said two sets of “probable relatives” of Poe’s mother are being subjected to DNA testing.

Burden of proof

Poblador, however, said the burden of proof is on David, being the petitioner.

Poe had said she has been trying for years to find her biological parents, who chose to abandon her.

In June, Poe went to Iloilo and met with family friends who, she said, gave her more information about the possible identity of her biological parents.

She was told that her biological father was one Edgardo Militar, a brother-in-law of Sayong Militar, who was supposed to have found her in a church nearly five decades ago.

Militar was the signatory in Poe’s foundling certificate.

Poe said Militar is dead, but her children have expressed their willingness to help her determine whether they are related.

Poe was found abandoned in front of the Jaro Cathedral before dawn on Sept. 3, 1968. 

Not final

Carpio said a decision on Poe’s citizenship is not final even if she fails to present her biological parents now.

“It can always be questioned… If tomorrow you happen to find out by DNA matching that your parent is Filipino, you can still prove that you are natural-born,” he said.

At the same hearing, David’s counsel Manuelito Luna said there was a “pattern of fraudulent acts” committed by Poe to re-acquire Filipino citizenship supposedly for her political plans.

Luna cited discrepancies in the 1968 birth certificate of the senator. He also questioned the validity of her 1974 adoption, which was approved by the San Juan municipal trial court.

He questioned why Poe registered another birth certificate in 2006 after her adoptive father action star Fernando Poe Jr. died, saying it was proof of her intention to re-acquire Philippine citizenship for convenience and as part of political plans.

International agreements

Sen. Pia Cayetano, a lawyer, cited the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and International Convention on Reduction of Statelessness, which grant nationality to foundlings like Poe.

Cayetano, however, said such agreements would need an enabling law before it could be implemented.

Sen. Loren Legarda questioned Luna’s argument, saying it would be discriminatory to foundlings seeking employment or owning properties.

“Are you foreclosing all these seemingly ordinary occupations and hopes to foundlings?” Legarda asked Luna.

Luna admitted that there is discrimination, but stressed the law must prevail.

Circumspect

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Carpio should have been more circumspect in discussing Poe’s case.

“That is a legal question not for one person like Senior Associate Justice Carpio – that’s for a whole set of people to decide,” Belmonte told reporters.

He said there is also a strong possibility the case would be elevated to the SC.

Belmonte, however, said he sees Carpio as being fair despite his previous connections when he was still in the private sector.

“I know and trust Justice Carpio as a man of intelligence,” he said. 

He called on all concerned not to speculate on Poe’s case before the SET. “I think we ought to await the decision of the SET,” he said.

More experience

Poe should first gain more experience as a political leader by running for vice president in 2016 or finishing her six-year term as senator, Rep. Arnel Ty of party-list group Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association said yesterday.

“Senator Poe is fairly young at 47. She can always run for president in 2022, when she will be 53 years old. Meantime, she should seek the vice presidency to obtain more experience,” Ty said.

“The longer she serves the country, either as vice president or as senator, the better. She will also be able to convince a greater number of Filipinos that she is here to stay for good,” he added.

Ty noted that by her own account, Poe spent much of her adult life in the United States, and decided to be an American citizen in 2001. She returned to the Philippines in 2004.

“It is not even clear if she finally returned here in 2004, or if she still went back and forth the US and the Philippines between 2004 and 2010, considering that she gave up her US citizenship only in 2010, when she was named chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board,” he said.

Ty said in a four- or five-way fight, Poe “will be up against tough and tested rivals who will surely give her a run for her money.”

“In fact, the 2016 battle lines in many provinces have been drawn this early, mainly between resigned Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay,” he said.

But if Poe runs for vice president, she is “virtually unbeatable” in 2016, he said.– With Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez