Petitioner warns Supreme Court of Poe’s dual allegiance

One of the petitioners seeking Senator Grace Poe's disqualification from the presidential elections has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss her plea against a Commission on Elections ruling canceling her certificate of candiacy based on her questioned citizenship.

In a 75-page comment, former University of the East College of Law Dean Valdez reminded the Supreme Court that the Comelec’s decision on Poe’s qualifications goes beyond the lawmaker’s sake and "has strategic and long-term significance… in a broader landscape.”

Valdez pointed out that between 2006, when she took oath of allegiance to the Philippines, and 2010, when she renounced her US citizenship, Poe did not only have dual citizenship but also dual allegiance to the two countries.

He said Poe’s dual allegiance was “dangerous” and “militates against the reacquisition of her natural-born status.”

"Under the law of both countries of which she is a citizen, she was bound by two Oaths of Allegiance.... Her situation constitutes dual allegiance which is frowned upon by the Constitution as inimical to the national interest,” said Valdez, citing Section Five, Article Four of the Constitution.

Differentiating the two terms, Valdez said dual citizenship arises when, as a result of the concurrent application of the different laws of two or more states, a person is simultaneously considered a national by the said states.

Dual allegiance, meanwhile, refers to the situation in which a person simultaneously owes, by some positive act, loyalty to two or more states.

"While dual citizenship is involuntary, dual allegiance is the result of an individual’s volition,” he said.

‘A form of support’

Poe has defended her acquisition of a US citizenship as a form of support for her family and not a proof that she turned her back on the Philippines.

She said she and her husband, Neil Llamanzares, initially decided to stay in the US for their family's sake.

"Noong kaming mag-asawa ay nag-umpisa, talaga namang sa pag-ibig 'yun. Kasama ang aking pamilya at asawa, nanirahan kami doon (US)," Poe told reporters at the Makabayan bloc's convention in Manila, where she was one of the guests of honor.

"Totoo naman po, akala ko bilang isang nanay, talagang suporta para sa aking pamilya, sa asawa na mamalagi kami doon. Di naman'yun dahil nagkulang ako ng pagmamahal sa bansa," she added.

Poe has since renounced her US citizenship.

‘No abuse in discretion’

Valdez said the Comelec did not abuse its discretion on ruling the Poe case because the lawmaker was “given opportunity to adduce proof and evidence during the proceedings on the matter by [Comelec], which is characterized by liberality in the submission of evidence and oral arguments."

He said the issues on Poe’s citizenship and residency were argued and "tested freely in a soul-searching debate by and among the parties in an open hearing, as well as in Comelec’s internal exchanges in official sessions."

Valdez even said that the recent squabble between Comelec chair Andres Bautista and Commissioner Rowena Guanzon is a “clear indication of the independence and discernment of that body.”

Bautista reprimanded Guanzon for filing a comment in the Poe case without his signature. Guanzon responded he was not Bautista’s subordinate and that the comment was filed with the “imprimatur” of the Comelec en banc.

Supreme Court requirement

Valdez filed his comment as required by the Supreme Court in connection with a petition filed by Poe seeking to reverse the Comelec’s grant of Valdez’s plea to cancel Poe’s certificate of candidacy for the 2016 polls.

Poe is a foundling found in Iloilo in 1968 and adopted by the late Fernando Poe Jr and Susan Roces. Poe later migrated to the US in 1988 to finish college and have a family. She became a naturalized US citizen in October 2001.

Valdez's petition with the Comelec had earlier been consolidated with those by political analyst Antonio Contreras and former Senator Francisco Tatad.

Valdez also asked the court to lift the temporary restraining order its issued against Poe’s disqualification last December 23.

‘Disregard surveys’

Valdez also urged the high tribunal to disregard presidential preference surveys when deciding on the case of Poe, who has consistently been among the frontrunners based on recent polls.

"It must be pointed out that the rankings of each and every candidate in the pre-election surveys are at most exhibitions of the ‘likelihood' of the chances of winning during the elections,” he said.

"This 'likelihood is undeniably a mere probability and uncertain since the campaign period is just yet to begin where each candidate is expected to exhaust all lawful and available means to introduce himself and inform his constituents of his platform,” Valdez added.

Valdez stressed that Poe’s domicile can only start to count from July 18, 2006 when she reacquired Philippine citizenship in accordance with established jurisprudence.

“In sum, her self-serving entries in her COC were false when evaluated according to RA 9225 or the Re-acquisition Act of 2003, and the principles of domicile defined by the Supreme Court in a long-line of cases,” said Valdez. —NB, GMA News