Grace Poe vs COMELEC

(Case Digest: GR 221697, GR 221698-700 March 8, 2016)

Issue 1: W/N the COMELEC has jurisdiction to rule on the issue

of qualifications of candidates (Read Dissent)

Facts:

Held:

In her COC for presidency for the May 2016 elections, Grace Poe

No. Article IX-C, Sec 2 of the Constitution provides for the powers and

declared that she is a natural-born citizen and that her residence in the

functions of the COMELEC, and deciding on the qualifications or lack

Philippines up to the day before 9 May 2016 would be 10 years and 11

thereof of a candidate is not one among them.

months counted from 24 May 2005.

In contrast, the Constitution provides that only the SET and HRET

May 24, 2005 was the day she came to the Philippines after deciding to

tribunals have sole jurisdiction over the election contests, returns, and

stay in the PH for good. Before that however, and even afterwards, she

qualifications of their respective members, whereas over the President

has been going to and fro between US and Philippines. She was born in

and Vice President, only the SC en banc has sole jurisdiction. As for

1968, found as newborn infant in Iloilo, and was legally adopted. She

the qualifications of candidates for such positions, the Constitution is

immigrated to the US in 1991 and was naturalized as American citizen in

silent. There is simply no authorized proceeding in determining

2001. On July 18, 2006, the BI granted her petition declaring that she

the ineligibility of candidates before elections. Such lack of provision

had reacquired her Filipino citizenship under RA 9225. She registered as

cannot be supplied by a mere rule, and for the COMELEC to assimilate

a voter and obtained a new Philippine passport. In 2010, before

grounds for ineligibility into grounds for disqualification in Rule 25 in its

assuming her post as an appointed chairperson of the MTRCB, she

rules of procedures would be contrary to the intent of the Constitution.

renounced her American citizenship to satisfy the RA 9225 requirement .

From then on, she stopped using her American passport.

Hence, the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion when it

Petitions were filed before the COMELEC to deny or cancel her

case for cancellation of her COC.

decided on the qualification issue of Grace as a candidate in the same

candidacy on the ground particularly, among others, that she cannot be

considered a natural-born Filipino citizen since she cannot prove that her

Issue 2: W/N Grace Poe-Llamanzares is a natural-born Filipino

biological parents or either of them were Filipinos. The COMELEC en

citizen (Read Dissent)

banc cancelled her candidacy on the ground that she is in want of

Held:

citizenship and residence requirements, and that she committed material

misrepresentations in her COC.
On certiorari, the SC reversed the ruling and held (9-6 votes) that Poe is
qualified as a candidate for Presidency. Three justices, however,
abstained to vote on the natural-born citizenship issue.

Yes, Grace Poe might be and is considerably a natural-born Filipino. For

that, she satisfies one of the constitutional requirements that only naturalborn Filipinos may run for presidency.
First, there is a high probability that Grace Poes parents are Filipinos.
Her physical features are typical of Filipinos. The fact that she was

abandoned as an infant in a municipality where the population of the

Grace Poes domicile had been timely changed as of May 24, 2005, and

Philippines is overwhelmingly Filipinos such that there would be more

not on July 18, 2006 when her application under RA 9225 was approved

than 99% chance that a child born in such province is a Filipino is also a

by the BI. COMELECs reliance on cases which decree that an aliens

circumstantial evidence of her parents nationality. That probability and

stay in the country cannot be counted unless she acquires a permanent

the evidence on which it is based are admissible under Rule 128, Section

resident visa or reacquires her Filipino citizenship is without merit. Such

4 of the Revised Rules on Evidence. To assume otherwise is to accept

cases are different from the circumstances in this case, in which Grace

the absurd, if not the virtually impossible, as the norm.

Poe presented an overwhelming evidence of her actual stay and intent to

abandon permanently her domicile in the US. Coupled with her eventual

Second, by votes of 7-5, the SC pronounced that

application to reacquire Philippine citizenship and her familys actual

foundlings are as a class, natural-born citizens. This is

continuous stay in the Philippines over the years, it is clear that when

based on the finding that the deliberations of the 1934

Grace Poe returned on May 24, 2005, it was for good.

Constitutional Convention show that the framers

intended foundlings to be covered by the enumeration.

Issue 4: W/N the Grace Poes candidacy should be denied or

While the 1935 Constitutions enumeration is silent as to

cancelled for committing material misrepresentations in her

foundlings, there is no restrictive language which would

COC

definitely exclude foundlings either. Because of silence

Held:

and ambiguity in the enumeration with respect to

No. The COMELEC cannot cancel her COC on the ground that she

foundlings, the SC felt the need to examine the intent of

misrepresented facts as to her citizenship and residency because such

the framers.

facts refer to grounds for ineligibility in which the COMELEC has no

Third, that foundlings are automatically conferred with natural-born

jurisdiction to decide upon. Only when there is a prior authority finding

citizenship is supported by treaties and the general principles of

that a candidate is suffering from a disqualification provided by law or the

international law. Although the Philippines is not a signatory to some of

Constitution that the COMELEC may deny due course or cancel her

these treaties, it adheres to the customary rule to presume foundlings as

candidacy on ground of false representations regarding her qualifications.

having born of the country in which the foundling is found.

In this case, by authority of the Supreme Court Grace Poe is now

Issue 3: W/N Grace Poe satisfies the 10-year residency

pronounced qualified as a candidate for the presidency. Hence, there

requirement

cannot be any false representations in her COC regarding her citizenship

Held:

and residency. ##

Yes. Grace Poe satisfied the requirements of animus manendi coupled

with animus revertendi in acquiring a new domicile.

Carpio Dissent (Highlights): Foundlings are Deemed

Naturalized Filipino Citizens