Poe: My very identity is being taken away from me

By AMITA O. LEGASPI, GMA News

Published December 11, 2015 12:47pm
Updated December 11, 2015 1:00pm

Senator Grace Poe on Friday insisted that she is qualified to run for president despite the ruling of the Commission on Elections' First Division canceling her certificate of candidacy (COC) for president on account that she is not a natural-born Filipino.

"I am a true Filipino from birth," said Poe, a foundling, in a statement. "I was raised as a Filipino, lived, studied, got married in the Philippines, and wish to serve fellow Filipinos as a Filipino."

"That my very identity is being taken away from me, is hurtful," she added.

She also accused the First Division, which voted 2-1 to cancel her COC, of ignoring the evidence that she presented "just to deny me the chance to better serve our countrymen, and to also deny our people their choices in an open election."

The First Division's ruling stemmed from the petitions filed by former Sen. Francisco Tatad, Prof. Antonio Contreras and former US Law Dean Amado Valdez questioning Poe's citizenship.

Acknowledging the setback, Poe said she will appeal the decision with the Comelec en banc and the Supreme Court.

"We will appeal to the Comelec and the Supreme Court to uphold the truth, and the spirit and aims of our Constitution," she said.

She added the pending the en banc and the Supreme Court's final ruling, she will remain a candidate for president.

Poe reiterated that the issue at hand was not just her candidacy but the welfare of the foundlings and even overseas Filipino workers.

"How these cases will be resolved will ultimately pervade the lives, status and limited opportunities accorded to all other foundlings, putting them at disadvantage for reasons and circumstances that are not their doing," Poe said.

"It will also affect once and current overseas Filipinos who may wish to give back to their true country through public service,” she added.

Poe said that institutions are being used to exclude Filipinos is a cause for serious concern. "Our laws should protect and defend their welfare, not shut them out,” she said.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Poe's running mate, Sen. Francis Escudero, remains hopeful that she will not be disqualified from the 2016 presidential race, reiterating that the ultimate decision rests with the SC.

"At the end of the day it’s the Supreme Court who can disqualify a candidate with finality,” said Escudero.

“We are hopeful that if Senator Grace cannot achieve justice from the Comelec, she will finally achieve justice in the Supreme Court,” he added, citing previous SC rulings involving election-related cases that may serve as precedents in Poe’s case.

One of these is the SC ruling in 2004 that declared Poe's adoptive father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., whose citizenship was also questioned when he ran for president at the time, a natural-born Filipino.

“Under the law, adoptive children take over the rights and the pertinences of a legitimate child. So if you are a legitimate child of a natural-born father, then the status of your citizenship is also natural-born,” he pointed out. —KBK, GMA News

Tags: gracepoe, eleksyon2016, headline1