MARY GRACE NATIVIDAD S POE- LLAMANZARES vs. [G.R. No. 163783.

June 22, 2004]

COMELEC,et al.
GR Nos. 221697 , GR No. 221698-700
March 8,2016
PIMENTEL vs. CONGRESS
Perez, J.:
FACTS:
 In her COC for Presidency on the May 2016 elections, Grace Poe
declared that she is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and
that her residence up to day before May 9, 2016 would be 10
years and 11 months counted from May 24, 2005.
 Grace Poe was born in 1968., found as newborn infant in
Jaro,Iloilo and was legally adopted by Ronald Allan Kelly Poe
(FPJ) And Jesus Sonora Poe (Susan Roces) in 1974. She
immigrated to the US in 1991 after her marriage to Theodore
Llamanzares who was then based at the US. Grace Poe then
became a naturalized American citizen in 2001.
 She went home for good to the Philippines on MAY 24, 2005.
 On JULY 18, 2006, the BI granted her petition declaring that she
had reacquired her Filipino citizenship under RA 9225. She
registered as a voter and obtained a new Philippine Passport.
 In 2010, before assuming her post as appointes Chairperson of
the MTRCB , she renounced her American citizenship to satisfy
the RA 9225 requirements as to Reacquistion of Filipino
Citizenship. From then on, she stopped using her American
passport.
Petitions were filed before the COMELEC to deny or cancel her
candidacy on the ground particularly among others, that she cannot
be considered a natural born Filipino citizen since she was a
FOUNDLING and that her bioligical parents cannot be proved as
Filipinos.
 The Comelec en banc cancelled her candidacy on the ground
that she is in want of citizenship and residence requirements and
that she committed misrepresentation in her COC.
On certiorari, the Supreme Court, reversed the ruling and held a vote of
9-6 that Poe is qualified as candidate for presidency.

ISSUES:
(1) Whether or not Grace Poe- Llamanzares is a natural- born Filipino
citizen
(2) Whether or not Poe satisfies the 10-year residency requirement.

HELD:
YES. GRACE POE is considerably a natural-born Filipino Citizen. For
that, she satisfied the constitutional requirement that only natural-
born Filipinos may run for Presidency.

(1) there is high probability that Poe’s parents are Filipinos, as being
shown in her physical features which are typical of Filipinos, aside
from the fact that she was found as an infant in Jaro, Iloilo, a
municipality wherein there is 99% probability that residents there
are Filipinos, consequently providing 99% chance that Poe’s
bilogical parents are Filipinos. Said probability and circumstancial
evidence are admissible under Rule 128, Sec 4 of the Rules on
Evidence.

(2) The SC pronounced that FOUNDLINGS are as a class, natural

born- citizens as based on the deliberations of the 1935
Constitutional Convention, wherein though its enumeration is
silent as to foundlings, there is no restrictive language either to
definitely exclude the foundlings to be natural born citizens.

(3) That Foundlings are automatically conferred with the natural-born

citizenship as to the country where they are being found, as
covered and supported by the UN Convention Law.

As to the residency issue, Grace Poe satisfied the 10-year residency

because she satisfied the requirements of ANIMUS MANENDI (intent to
remain permanently) coupled with ANIMUS NON REVERTENDI (intent of
not returning to US) in acquiring a new domicile in the Philippines. Starting
May 24,2005, upon returning to the Philippines, Grace Poe presented
overwhelming evidence of her actual stay and intent to abandon
permanently her domicile in the US, coupled with her eventual application
to reacquire Filipino Citizenship under RA 9225. Hence, her candidacy for
Presidency was granted by the SC.