MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, acting as chair of the Senate Electoral Tribunal on Monday, said Sen. Grace Poe is a naturalized citizen of the Philippines and may not be a natural-born Filipino.
During the oral arguments on the disqualification case against Poe, Carpio said international law allows foundlings like Poe to become citizens of the country where they were found.
“There is a principle of international law that every state must avoid statelessness and there is also principle that every person has a right to acquire nationality, if you add this together, that is part of the law because it does not contravene the Constitution,” Carpio said in questioning petitioner Manuelito Luna.
Luna, for his part, insisted that Poe, who recently announced her intention to run for president in 2016, is a not a natural-born Filipino as she has “no parentage.” The Constitution requires candidates for president to be natural-born Filipinos.
Audio recording courtesy of the Senate Electoral Tribunal
Carpio said international law can be applied in the Philippines with the same weight as a statute of Congress, but it cannot contravene the Constitution, which defines natural-born Filipinos as those who have either a father or a mother who is a Filipino citizen.
“To be natural-born you must show blood relationship,” Carpio said.
The magistrate said the Constitution gives way to customary international law in providing citizenship to foundlings, but does not necessarily identify them as natural-born citizens.
The 1987 Constitution states that natural-born citizens “are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship.”
It also states that those born before Jan. 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers and “who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority” are deemed natural-born citizens.
Toward the end of the oral arguments, Poe’s counsel, Alexander Poblador, admitted that Poe’s biological parents are still unknown. Carpio noted that Poe’s birth certificate does not directly state her status as a natural-born citizen.
“If you look at the certificate of live birth of Sen. Grace Poe, at the face alone, you wouldn't know if she is a natural-born citizen because there is no father or mother there,” Carpio said.
Poblador said Poe is “in the process” of conducting DNA tests to prove her status as a natural-born citizen.
READ: Grace Poe seeking DNA match, says lawyer
Poe’s camp maintains that she is presumed to be a natural-born citizen for being found in the Philippines. — with Efigenio Toledo IV