Poe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC
G.R. No. 221697
G.R. Nos. 221698-700
March 8, 2016
Facts:
Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamnzares (Grace Poe) was found abandoned as a newborn infant in a church in Jaro, Iloilo by Edgardo Militar on September 2, 1968. The parental care and custody of Grace was then transferred by Edgardo to his relatives, Emiliano Militar and his wife. Three days later, Emiliano reported Grace as a foundling with the Office of the Civil Registrar (OCR). When she was five years old, Grace was adopted by Ronald Allan Kelly Poe (aka FPJ) and Jesusa Sonora Poe (aka Susan Roces). On May 13, 1974, the trial court granted the petition for adoption. Although necessary notations were made by the OCR, Susan Roces discovered only sometimes in 2005 that the lawyer who handled Grace Poe’s adoption failed to secure a new certificate of live birth, indicating Grace’s new name and the name of her adoptive parents. In 2006, the OCR issued a new certificate of live birth in the name of Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe. When she turned 18, Grace Poe registered as a voter in San Juan City.
Marriage and Naturalization
On July 27, 1991, Grace married Teodoro Misael Daniel Llamnzares, a citizen of both the Philippines and the United States. The couple flew to America on July 29, 1991. Grace gave birth to Brian Daniel in the USA on 1992, while her daughters Hanna MacKenzie and Jesusa Anika were born in the Philippines in 1998 and 2004, respectively. Grace Poe became a naturalized American citizen on October 18, 2001.
Return to the Philippines
On December 13, 2004, Grace came back to the Philippines upon learning of her father’s deteriorating health. She stayed in the country until February 3, 2005 to take care of her father’s funeral arrangements. In her desire to be with her mother, she decided to move and reside permanently in the Philippines sometime in the first quarter of 2005. They began preparing for their resettlement including the transfer of schools for her children.
Properties Acquired
In the second half of 2005, Grace and her husband purchased a condominium unit at One Wilson Place in San Juan City. In early 2006, Teodoro Llamanzares acquired a 509-square meter lot in Quezon City where they built their family home. Up to the date of the promulgation of the decision, Grace and her family are living there.
Repatriation
On July 7, 2006, Grace Poe took her oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines pursuant to RA 9225 (Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003). She then filed a sworn petition to reacquire Philippine citizenship together with petitions for derivative citizenship on behalf of her three minor children with the Bureau of Immigration. Grace then registered again as a voter of Barangay Santa Lucia, San Juan City on august 31, 2006.
On October 6, 2010, Grace was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III as chairperson of the MTRCB. Before assuming her post, she executed an Affidavit of Renunciation of Allegiance to the United States of America and Renunciation of American Citizenship on October 20, 2010 in satisfaction of the requisites under RA 9225.
On July 12, 2011, Grace Poe executed before the Vice Consul of the US Embassy in Manila an Oath/Affirmation of Renunciation of Nationality of the United States. She accomplished a sworn questionnaire before the US Vice Consul that states her intent of relinquishing her American citizenship. On December 9, 2011, the US Vice Consul issued Grace a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States.
Senatorial Post
On October 2, 2012, Grace filed her Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for Senator for the 2013 elections, wherein she answered 6 years and 6 months to the question “period of residence in the Philippines before May 13, 2013.” She obtained the highest number of votes and became a Senator on May 16, 2013.
Presidential Candidacy
On October 15, 2015, Grace Poe filed her COC for presidency for the May 2016 elections. In her COC, she declared that she was a natural-born citizen and that she resided in the Philippines up to the day before May 9, 2016 for 10 years and 11 months, counted from May 24, 2005.
Various petitions were filed, questioning the eligibility of Grace Poe as a candidate for presidency.
Issue:
Is Grace Poe qualified to run for presidency?
Ruling:
Yes. What was questioned by the petitions filed against her were her residency and citizenship. These will be discussed below.
On Citizenship
Statistics and Physical Features
Grace Poe’s citizenship was questioned because she was a foundling, so her real citizenship is unknown. The Court ruled, however, that Poe’s Filipino citizenship is demonstrable. The Court relied on the statistical probability that Poe is of Filipino descent. In 1970, there were 99.56% Filipino females born in the Philippines. Therefore, there is a great chance that Grace is a Filipino. Furthermore, Grace’s features were taken into consideration. She has Filipino features: height, nasal bridge, straight black hair, almond-shaped eyes, and an oval face. The probability and the evidence are admissible under Rule 128, Section 4 of the Revised Rules on Evidence.
Legislative Intent of the 1935 Constitution
In addition, although the 1935 Constitution was silent as to the citizenship of foundlings, it was found that during the deliberations, the lawmakers intended the enumeration to include natural children of unknown parentage. The reason why foundlings were not included in the enumeration is that their number was not enough to merit specific mention. The constitutional silence is fully explained in terms of linguistic efficiency and the avoidance of redundancy.
Status of Being Natural-Born
Under Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution, 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. “Having to perform an act” means that the act must be done personally by the citizen. In the case of foundlings, the determination of status is done by authorities, not by the foundling.
Rule Under International Law
Foundlings are citizens under international law. By virtue of transformation or incorporation, international laws may be made binding in the Philippines. The following international laws were cited by the court:
1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
· Provides that everyone has a right to nationality
2. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
· Provides that a child has the right to acquire a nationality
3. 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
· Provides for the right of every child to acquire a nationality
All these laws obligate the Philippines to grant nationality from birth and ensure that no child is stateless.
Furthermore, the following principles were also cited by the court. It should be noted that these are not yet ratified by the Philippines at the time of the promulgation of the decision but were nevertheless applied since they are generally accepted principles of international law.
1. The 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws
· Provides that “a child whose parents are both unknown shall have the nationality of the country of birth.”
2. 1961 UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness
· Provides that a foundling shall be presumed born of citizens of the country where he is found
Effect of Repatriation
COMELEC contended that upon repatriation, Grace Poe did not reacquire her status as a natural-born citizen. The Court said that this issue has already been settled in the case of Bengson III v. HRET, where it was ruled that repatriation results in the recovery of the original nationality.
On Residence
Starting Point of Counting
The Court ruled that Grace Poe’s claim that she will have been a resident for 10 years and 11 months is true. This period was counted from May 25, 2005, when she returned for good from the United States. The petitioners questioning her residency contended that the period should have been counted from July 2006, when her petition to reacquire Filipino citizenship was approved.
The court ruled that the three requisites of acquiring a new domicile are present in Grace Poe’s case: (1) residence or bodily presence in a new locality, (2) an intention to remain there, and (3) an intention to abandon the old domicile. Grace Poe presented numerous evidences that prove she had complied with the requisites since May 2005.
Balikbayan
COMELEC pointed out that Grace Poe returned to the Philippines visa-free as a balikbayan under RA 6768. However, the court ruled that the Republic Act shows that there is no overriding intent to treat balikbayans as temporary visitors who must leave after one year. The law institutes a baikbayan program providing the opportunity to avail of the necessary training to enable the balikbayan to become economically self-reliant members of society upon their return to the Philippines. Given the law’s express policy, it would be unduly harsh to conclude in absolute terms that the balikbayan must leave after one year.
On the Senatorial COC
Grace Poe explained in the pleadings that she had committed an honest mistake when she filled up her COC for the senatorial elections because she misunderstood the query in 2012 (period of residence before May 13, 2013) as inquiring about residence as of the time she submitted the COC.
The Court ruled in her favor, citing Romualdez-Marcos v. COMELEC, which held that a candidate’s mistake as to period of residence made in a COC is overcome by evidence.
Thus, Grace Poe was declared by the court as qualified to be a candidate for President in the National and Local Elections of May 9, 2016.
It's a Ping Thing 