Pilipino Poe ba?

The current Supreme Court petition regarding the Grace Poe arguments, her right and validity to run as a candidate for President of the Philippines is a debatable issue. One side is the legal fraternity that interprets it in a judiciary common practice and the other side being the voters of the country trying to make sense of the interpretations and implications the decision of the Supreme Court that will decide the outcome of the petition.

I find it quite amusing though for learned lawyers presumably reading the same laws to come out with different interpretations. Some opine that she is stateless for having been born of unknown parents in a country that grants citizenship by blood relationship (jus sanguinis), not on the basis of place of birth (jus soli). Some argue that she may be a Filipino but definitely no longer natural-born because she had to do something to reacquire her citizenship after renouncing it in favor of American nationality; while some insist she is a natural-born Filipino because we should not discriminate against foundlings in the Philippines. As they say, twenty lawyers can give you forty ways of changing a light bulb.

The oral argument presented is Grace Poe’s interpretation to reverse the cancellation of her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for president by the Comelec. Defining the legitimacy of foundlings as natural born Filipino is one of the issues and also another disputed argument towards the prerequisite of being a resident of the Philippines for 10 years.

Grace Poe presented an argument to the Supreme Court that base on the International Treaty that the Philippines subscribed to, she is entitled to be a natural born citizen. Are we not bound by international law rules on foundlings? Well, the most relevant is a 1961 convention stipulating that “a foundling found in the territory of a contracting state shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be considered to have been born within that territory of parents possessing the nationality of that state,” but the Philippines is not a contracting party because we did not sign or ratify the convention. We are not bound by this rule although Congress can enact a law to implement this.

There is no provision in the Constitution or any domestic law that vests Philippine citizenship in favor of a foundling. Even our domestic and inter-country adoption laws do not state that foundlings in the Philippines shall be considered natural-born Filipinos. What is clear is that every foundling in the Philippines may be adopted under our laws for “adoption of Filipino children” but only after going through a prescribed process to declare the child abandoned.

But what about the rule on adoption of generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, which is also found in the Constitution? To be generally accepted, the principle of international law must be adhered to by a great number of states, like the rule on diplomatic immunities, among others. At the time Grace Poe was born, only a few countries have signed the convention so it may not be considered generally accepted. But why take it against a foundling? After being abandoned by her parents, is it fair to compel her to abandon her political aspirations? The issue is the qualification for the highest position in the land, not the rights of a foundling. This is governed by the Constitution and our laws, not by emotions or political inclinations.

Grace Poe cannot be identified as a natural born citizen unless proven that her parents are of real Filipino blood. Ooooh! That would explain the search to the grave for DNA tests. Citizenship is expressly defined by no less than the fundamental law of the land and is too precious to be granted by mere presumption. And the Constitution states that to be candidate or voted as President, Vice President and both Houses of Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) you must be a “natural born citizen.” “A natural born citizen is a person who is a citizen from birth, in contrast to one who acquires citizenship by naturalization.”

Added to this is the issue of 10-year residency and Poe using her supposedly renounced US passport that happened less than 5 years ago. From her status as a foundling she became a naturalized citizen and then a US citizen. Every natural born Filipino and naturalized citizen can only be awarded dual citizenship. Based on these facts that every Filipino has been living with and accustomed to, is there any interpretation needed to consider Grace Poe as a legitimate candidate for President in the Philippines? There is truly no other answer than that she is ineligible. Her position as a Senator is also in question now including other issues regarding the benefits she received if we follow this judgment.

Before she ran as candidate for the Presidency, if she planned correctly, as a legislator, she could have legislated on this issue to address her status. She did not do so. Hence, there is no exception to the directive of the Constitution that as foundling she was only awarded Philippine citizenship. Becoming a US Citizen and renouncing her Philippine citizenship, her best classification is to have a dual citizen status like most voters having had foreign citizenship. This disallows her to hold public office.

What voters think is that because she is classified part of the elite in our society, she is awarded privileges to pursue her case in so far that the Supreme Court individually are voicing their interpretations and may show biased towards her cause. If this was a case of any average citizen, would there be any Supreme Court interpellation let alone Comelec awarding candidacy? Is that fair for the citizens of the Philippines that she be given this special treatment? No it is a disgrace to every citizen of this country who have to face the law as it is and without privileges.

It is the view then that Grace Poe’s appointment first to public office was incorrect and Comelec awarding her candidacy in the Senate was also an error to the Constitution directive. It is because of this incompetence that Comelec now faces this dilemma of trying to fix Grace Poe’s ineligibility to run as President and also their mistake in allowing her to run and be voted as a Senator.

Don’t get me wrong I believe in Grace Poe’s ability and I know she has done well in her work as a public servant. But the law is the law. I am quite perplexed with Poe’s actions. As a legislator shouldn’t she be the first to protect the Constitution? How can she become the President of the Philippines if she is volatile in this area? Shouldn’t she lead by example?

By the way, the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA) had a gathering and induction of new members (which I am privileged to be a part of) to celebrate Constitution Day last week. Since 1961, the PHILCONSA has been our guard of honor to defend, preserve and protect the Constitution and promote its growth and flowering for the good of the nation and its people. Our country is grounded by a Constitution which we should learn to uphold and respect. Yes, it needs a major overhaul. So, here’s hoping that our new batch of legislators will work harder and stop goofing around.