Defeated senatorial candidate Lito David files petition to unseat Grace Poe

(Updated 12:42 p.m.) With P50,000 cash on his hands, defeated senatorial candidate Lito David formally filed on Thursday his quo warranto petition challenging the continued stay of Sen. Grace Poe in office.

 

"Nakahingi po ako ng tulong sa mga kaibigan ko. Mga private individuals po sila," David told reporters after filing his quo warranto petition before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET).

David was referring to the P50,000 cash that he used to pay the filing fee for his petition.

 

On Wednesday, David attempted to file his quo warranto petition against Poe but the SET refused to receive it as he could not produce the P50,000 filing fee.

 

"After po na hindi tayo napagbigyan na i-file kahapon, marami po akong mga kaibigan na nagpaabot kaagad ng suporta at ngayon nga po ay nakalikom na tayo ng sapat na halaga," David said.

 

David, however, stressed that while he has some friends and "former bosses" in the Senate who have expressed support, none of them gave any monetary assistance for the filing of the petition.

 

"Lahat po ng nagbigay [ng financial assistance] ay mga private individual," David said. "Marami rin naman po akong mga kaibigan from the private sector." 
 

David had earlier maintained that no one was behind him in filing his petition to unseat Poe.

 

"This is a noble act... I don't need somebody else to push me to do this. Ito ay ginawa ko on my own," David told reporters on Wednesday.

Citizenship and residency

 

In his quo warranto complaint, David said Poe has no right to remain in office on the grounds that she is supposedly not a Filipino citizen and lacks the required number of years of residency in the Philippines when she filed her certificate of candidacy in the 2013 senatorial elections.

 

"This petition for quo warranto...is seeking to unseat respondent Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares from the Senate of the Congress of the Philippines...non-citizenship and non-residence are grounds of ineligibility for a member of the Senate, thus, a member can be disqualified to continue as senator on these grounds," David said in his petition.

 

David's petition also pointed out that Poe has been using an American passport since 2009 and that she has also taken her oath of allegiance to the United States.

 

David's petition further pointed out that Poe is not a natural-born Filipino citizen and has only acquired her Filipino citizenship status by virtue of adoption.

 

"It should be emphasized that (Poe) was a foundling. When she was adopted, she had no known biological parents, having been allegedly found in a church in Jaro, Iloilo, and was allegedly taken by a rich woman and later on ended up in the hands of the Poe couple," David said.

 

"In any case, even if it were to be conceded that (Poe) became a Filipino through her adoption, sufficient reasons support the view that the adoption did not confer upon her the status of a 'natural-born' Filipino citizen. This is due to the present law on citizenship in the Philippines on blood relation (jus sanguinis) and that is the only primary basis of acquiring citizenship by birth," David added.

 

David stressed that Section 3 Article VI of the 1987 Constitution states that "no person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines."

 

David ran under the Ang Kapatiran Party in the 2013 senatorial elections.

 

On the other hand, Poe, the adopted daughter of the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. and actress Susan Roces, topped the 2013 senatorial election. She is also now topping pre-election surveys as the most favored possible presidential candidate in the 2016 polls.

'Opportunity for truth to come out'