David v.

Senate Electoral Tribunal

GR 221538 –– 20 September 2016
Justice Leonen, EN BANC

BASIC FACTS: David v. Senate Electoral Tribunal

GR 221538 –– 20 September 2016
Justice Leonen, EN BANC

AT A GLANCE: Laws invoked:

● Article VI, Sec.3, 1987 Constitution. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least
thirty-five years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident
of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of
the election.
● Art. IV, Sec. 1, 1987 Constitution. The following are the citizens of the
Philippines:
(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution;
(2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
(3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and
(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
● Art. IV, Sec. 2, 1987 Constitution. Natural-born citizens are those who are
citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire
or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine citizenship in
accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born
citizens.

In the Petition for Quo Warranto filed on 06 August 2015, Petitioner Rizalito Y. David
questioned the qualifications of sitting Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares on two
grounds, namely: that being a foundling whose parents are unknown, she is not a natural
born Filipino citizen; and that she lacks the residency requirement provided by law.

After the issues had been joined, the Tribunal called the parties and their respective
counsel to a Preliminary Conference on 11 September 2015. During the Preliminary
Conference, Petitioner David agreed to drop the issue of residency on the ground of
prescription.

Thereafter, on 21 September 2015, the Tribunal heard the parties in Oral Argument.
 On 17 November 2015, the Tribunal promulgated its Decision, dismissing the petition for
quo warranto. The Tribunal ruled that Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares is a natural-
born citizen under the 1935 Constitution and continue to be a natural-born citizen as
defined under the 1987 Constitution. The Tribunal further ruled that she validly
reacquired her natural-born citizen under R.A. 9225 and validly renounced her American
citizenship.

The decision of the Tribunal was upheld by the Supreme Court in its decision for this case.

FACTS OF THE CASE: Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares is a foundling whose biological parents are
unknown. In 1968, she was abandoned and found at the Parish Church of Jaro, Iloilo when
she was an infant, and was eventually turned over to spouses Militar, who reported the
incident to the Office of the Local Civil Registrar. She was then issued a Certificate of Live
Birth/Foundling Certificate.

In 1974, Spouses Poe were granted the petition for adoption of the child, and her name
was also changed from Mary Grace Natividad Contreras Militar to Mary Grace Natividad
Sonora Poe. Senator Grace Poe grew up and was raised in the Philippines, until she left
for the United States to pursue college. Once she obtained her bachelor’s degree in the
US, she then married Teodoro Llamanzares, both an American and Filipino since birth.
After celebrating their marriage in San Juan, Manila, they returned to the US and had their
family there. Senator Poe was then naturalized and granted an American citizenship in
2001 and was also given a US passport.

Three years later, Senator Poe went back to the Philippines to support her father who was
running in the 2004 National Elections. A few months after the elections, she returned to
US with her daughter, but came back later that year as her father fell ill and died. She
stayed in the Philippines until February 2005 to attend her father’s funeral and to settle
his estate. In that same year, her family decided that they should all return and live in the
Philippines. In July of 2006, Senator Poe took the Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of
the Philippines and filed for a Petition for Retention and/or Reacquisition of Philippine
Citizenship. By the end of the month, she and her children were issued Identification
Certificates by the Bureau of Immigration, stating that they are citizens of the Philippines.

Senator Poe made several trips to the US in the following years using her American
passport, until she has formally renounced her American citizenship in October 2010. By
this time, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has already appointed her as the
Chairperson of MTRCB.
 During the 2013 Elections, Senator Poe decided to run as a senator. She won a seat in the
senate and was then declared a Senator-elect on May 16, 2013. However, one of the
losing candidates, the petitioner herein named Rizalito David, filed before the Senate
Electoral Tribunal a Petition for Quo Warranto on August 6, 2015. He contested the
election of Senator Poe for failing to "comply with the citizenship and residency
requirements mandated by the 1987 Constitution."

Petitioner claims that as a foundling, Senator Poe could not be considered as a natural-
born citizen of the Philippines. He shifted the burden of evidence to the private
respondent, which was frowned upon by the Court. They held that, “In an action for quo
warranto, the burden of proof necessarily falls on the party who brings the action and
who alleges that the respondent is ineligible for the office involved in the controversy. In
proceedings before quasi-judicial bodies such as the Senate Electoral Tribunal, the
requisite quantum of proof is substantial evidence. 202 This burden was petitioner's to
discharge. Once the petitioner makes a prima facie case, the burden of
evidence shifts to the respondent.”

ISSUE/S AND RATIO: Whether or not Poe, as a foundling, is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
● YES. Concluding that foundlings are not natural-born Filipino citizens is
tantamount to permanently discriminating against our foundling citizens. They can
then never be of service to the country in the highest possible capacities. Such
conclusion also creates an inferior class of citizens who are made to suffer that
inferiority through no fault of their own.
● The presumption that foundlings are natural-born citizens of the Philippines
(unless substantial evidence of the foreign citizenship of both of the foundling's
parents is presented) is validated by a parallel consideration or contemporaneous
construction of the Constitution.
● Private respondent was a Filipino citizen at birth. This status' commencement
from birth means that private respondent never had to do anything to
consummate this status. By definition, she is natural-born. Though subsequently
naturalized, she reacquired her natural-born status upon satisfying the
requirement of Republic Act No. 9225. Accordingly, she is qualified to hold office
as Senator of the Republic.

In relation to Interpreting the Language of the Constitution, the Court held that:
• The actual words (text) and how they are situated within the whole document
(context) govern. When discerning meaning from the plain text (i.e. , verba legis)
fails, contemporaneous construction may settle what is more viable.
Nevertheless, even when a reading of the plain text is already sufficient,
contemporaneous construction may still be resorted to as a means for verifying or
validating the clear textual or contextual meaning of the Constitution.
• To the extent possible, words must be given their ordinary meaning; this is
consistent with the basic precept of verba legis.
• Also, reading a constitutional provision requires awareness of its relation with the
 whole of the Constitution. The Constitution should be appreciated and read as a
singular, whole unit — ut magis valeat quam pereat . Each provision must be
understood and effected in a way that gives life to all that the Constitution
contains, from its foundational principles to its finest fixings.
• In the hierarchy of the means for constitutional interpretation, inferring meaning
from the supposed intent of the framers or fathoming the original understanding
of the individuals who adopted the basic document is the weakest approach.
➢ These methods leave the greatest room for subjective interpretation.
➢ They allow for the greatest errors.
➢ The original intent of the framers of the Constitution is not always
uniform with the original understanding of the People who ratified it.

RULING: WHEREFORE, the Petition for Certiorari is DISMISSED. Public respondent Senate
Electoral Tribunal did not act without or in excess of its jurisdiction or with grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in rendering its assailed November
17, 2015 Decision and December 3, 2015 Resolution.

Private respondent Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares is a natural-born Filipino citizen

qualified to hold office as Senator of the Republic.