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Of certificate of
Candidacy
MARY GRACE NATIVIDAD SONORA
POE-LLAMARES
RESPONDENT.
PETITION
After graduation, she lived most of her adult life in the United
States. In the year 1991, Senator Poe married Neil Llamanzares, a dual
citizen of the United States and the Philippines. On October 18, 2001,
Arguments
In the case at bar, Senator Poe filed her candidacy for President of
the Philippines last October 2015. However the herein petitioner strongly
believes that the respondent failed to comply with the requirements
provided for under the 1987 Constitution. In resolving the presented issue,
first, who are qualified to run for the presidency? Section 2 Article VII of
the Constitution provides that:
No person may be elected President unless he is a
NATURAL-BORN CITIZEN of the Philippines, a registered voter,
able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the
election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years
immediately preceding such election. (emphasis supplied)
Under the cited provision we can deduce that there are five
requirements for a person to qualify for the position of President. The first
requirement is that the person must be a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines. Now we come to the next question, who are natural born
citizens of the Philippines? Section 2 Article IV of the Constitution provides
that:
We can note from the cited provision that there are two ways for a
person be deemed as a natural-born citizen. The first class refers to those
who are Filipinos by virtue of birth without having to perform any act to
acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Under Political Law, the
Philippines adheres to the doctrine of jus sanguinis or by blood
relationship as the basis of Filipino Citizenship. Therefore, a person can
be deemed a natural-born Filipino if he or she has a natural affiliation to
Filipino ascendants. Applying this established principle in the present
case, can Senator Poe be considered as a natural-born citizen under the
first class? The petitioner believes that she cannot qualify since it is an
established fact that she nor anyone can establish her natural ascendants.
Therefore in adhering to the doctrine of jus sanguinis, we cannot
determine whether or not Senator Poe has a blood affiliation to Filipinos.
The petitioner does not also share the view that Section 1 Article IV of the
Constitution, specifically paragraph two includes adoptive fathers. The
said provision provides that:
Prayer
Other reliefs just and equitable under the premises are likewise
prayed for.