VALLES vs.

COMELEC
GR No. 137000

Facts: Rosalind Lopez was born in 1934 in Australia, to a Filipino father and Australian mother.
At the age of 15, she left Australia and came to settle in the Philippines. In 1952, she married a
Filipino citizen in Manila. Since then, she continuously participated in the electoral process not
only as a voter but as a candidate. She ran and was elected governor of Davao in 1992 and
1995. Her election was both contested on a ground that she is an Australian Citizen, but was
both denied by COMELEC. In 1998 re-elections, petition for disqualification was filed in the
COMELEC by Valles raising once again the citizenship of Lopez. However, it was denied by
COMELEC. Petitioner Valles, assailed the petition to SC. The petitioner contented the following:
Application of Immigration Certificate of Registration and Immigrant Certificate of
Residence, expressly declared under oath that she was a citizen of Australia, said
declaration forfeited her Philippine citizenship, and operated to disqualify her to run
for elective office.
Subsequent renunciation of Respondents Australian Citizenship and had her
Australian passport cancelled do not automatically restore her status as Filipino
Citizen. She must still comply with the mandatory requirements for repatriation under
Republic Act 817.
The election of Rosalind Ybasco Lopez to public office did not mean the restoration
of her Filipino citizenship since she was not legally repatriated.

Issue: Whether or not Lopez is a Filipino citizen and thus allowed to run in the election?

Held: Yes. Lopez is a Filipino citizen. The Philippine law on citizenship adheres to the principle
of jus sanguinis. Based on the existing law prior to the 1935 constitution, under the Philippine
Bill of 1902 and the Jones Law, Father of Respondent was deemed to be a Philippine citizen.
By virtue of the same laws, which were the laws in force at the time of her birth, daughter herein
respondent, is likewise a citizen of the Philippines. With regards to respondents application for
an alien cert. of registration does not amount to express renunciation or repudiation of ones
citizenship. Thus, at the most, respondent had dual citizenship - she was an Australian and a
Filipino, as well. The petition was dismissed and respondent Lopez is qualified to run for
governor of Davao Oriental.
 Poe vs. Comelec
GR No. 221697
March 8, 2016

Facts:
Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares was found abandoned as a newborn infant in
the Parish Church of Jaro, Iloilo on 3 September 1968, and was registered as foundling. She
was then adopted by celebrity spouses Fenando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces. Grace Poe left the
country and pursued her studies in US. In 2001, she became a naturalized American citizen.
After the death of her father FPJ, she and her husband decided to move permanently in
the Philippines in 2005. She then, without delay, secured a TIN, and purchased a condominium
and lot
In 2006, Grace Poe took her Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
In 2011, the U.S. Vice Consul issued to her a "Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the
United States" effective 21 October 2010, after her oath of renunciation.
In 2012, Grace Poe filed her Certificate of Candidacy for Senator for the 2013 Elections
wherein she declared "6 years and 6 months" as her period of residence in the Philippines. In
the said election, she obtained the highest number of votes and was proclaimed Senator.
In 2015, Grace Poe filed her COC for the Presidency for 2016 Elections and declared
that she is a natural-born citizen and that her residence in the Philippines up to the day before 9
May 2016 would be ten (10) years and eleven (11) months counted from 2005.
This triggered the filing of several COMELEC cases against her by Elamparo, Tatad and
Valdez basically assailing that Grace Poe is not a natural-born citizen as the 1935 constitution
intended to exclude foundlings as natural-born citizen, and residency issue should reckon from
the date petitioner reacquire Philippine Citizenship, and not the petitioners physical presence in
the country before that date, since she is still consider as an American citizen by that time.
COMELEC 1st and 2nd division granted the petition of Elamparo, et al thus, cancelled the
COC of Grace Poe. Motion for reconsideration was filed but was denied. This led to the petition
for review to SC.

Issue:
Whether or not Grace Poe, who is a foundling, is considered a natural born citizen?

Held:

Yes. Grace Poe is considerably a natural-born Filipino. There is a high probability that
Grace Poes parents are Filipino. Her physical features are Filipinos. The fact that she was
abandoned as an infant in a municipality where the population of the Philippines is
overwhelmingly Filipinos such that there would be more than 99% chance that a child born in
such province is a Filipino is also a circumstantial evidence of her parents nationality. That the
probability and evidence on which it is based are admissible under Rule 128 of Sec. 4 of the
Revised Rules on Evidence. SC pronounced that foundlings are as a class, natural-born citizen.
This is based on the finding that the deliberations of the 1934 Constitutional Convention show
that the framers intended foundlings to be covered by the enumeration. Foundlings are
automatically conferred with natural-born citizenship, supported by treaties and the general
principles of international law. Although, Philippines is not a signature on these treaties, it
adheres to the customary rule to presume foundlings as having born of the country in which the
foundling is found. With that, it is concluded that Grace Poe is considered a natural born citizen
of the Philippines, and thus allowed to run for presidency.