MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Sen. Grace Poe on Monday faced Supreme Court magistrates on the disqualification cases against her filed before the Commission on Elections.
At the oral arguments, Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo asked Poe's legal counsel, Alexander Poblador, on the basis of claiming that the presidential candidate is a natural-born Filipino citizen as required by the Constitution of nationally elected officials.
Poblador cited principles of international law that foundlings like Poe are "presumed" to be natural-born citizens, even as the Constitution defined such as those born of fathers or mothers who are citizens.
Part of the oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Poe-Llamanzares vs Comelec on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. Audio courtesy of SC PIO
"That presumption is also based on official acts of government like when her petition to re-acquire citizenship... the Bureau of Immigration made the presumption that she was born of Filipino parents and is presumptively natural-born Filipino," Poblador said.
"Presumption also arises from the fact that she was appointed and elected to public office which require natural-born citizenship," he added.
Del Castillo, however, asked Poblador whether one can be a natural-born citizen only by "presumption."
"So what you're saying is that we have now a citizen by presumption? You're advocating that concept of a citizen by presumption?" the magistrate asked.
Poe's lawyer said that the opposing camp should prove that she is not born to Filipino parents in the Philippines.
"Presumptions are based on common sense, human experience, ordinary course of conduct," Poblador said. "A newborn infant was never naturalized, he never underwent the process of naturalization. Under our laws, you have to be 18 years old to be naturalized." — with a report from Efigenio Toledo IV