Perjury, falsification raps filed vs FPJ for claiming to be Pinoy

Movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. was charged with perjury and falsification of public documents for allegedly falsifying his birth certificate to secure passports and to allow him to run for president in the May elections.

Two counts of falsification of public documents and one count of perjury charges were filed before the Manila Prosecutors Office yesterday afternoon by lawyer Albert Villaseca and Marica Mondejar, a representative of non-government organization Akbay Maralita sa Lungsod Silangan Townsite Reservation (Amalustre).

The two filed their complaint before Manila Assistant City Prosecutor Alexander Ramos.

The complainants’ laywer, Melanio Elvis Balayan, noted that there was a glaring and obvious attempt to conceal Poe’s true identity. However, he said that the complaint was not meant to condemn the accused but to clarify the issues surrounding his identity.

In their 15-page complaint, Villaseca and Mondejar stated that Poe evidently made an untruthful statement in the verified certificate of candidacy he filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Dec. 31, 2003.

They noted that Poe’s father and mother were not legally married since his father had a prior marriage with a certain Paulita Gomez.

"Having been born out of a void and bigamous marriage, the respondent is an illegitimate child of Mr. Allan Poe and Mrs. Bessie Kelly. Consequently, therefore, the citizenship of respondent Poe follows that of his mother, who was undeniably an American citizen," the complainants said.

In the COC, Poe stated that he was a natural-born Filipino citizen. "Respondent Poe cannot be a Filipino citizen, much more a natural-born citizen since both his parents are foreign nationals. His mother, Elizabeth "Bessie" Kelly, is an American while his father, Allan Poe, is a Spanish citizen," the complainants explained in their affidavit.

They added that Poe’s paternal grandparents were also both Spanish citizens, prompting Poe’s father to also declare his citizenship as Spanish.

"Considering the foregoing, respondent Poe could not have possibly acquired Filipino citizenship from his father, who was a Spanish, thus Poe’s statement in his falsified certificate of candidacy that he and his father are Filipinos are downright lies," the complainants argued.

As further proof of the nullity of the marriage of Poe’s parents, the complainants said that Gomez even filed a criminal case of bigamy and concubinage against Poe’s father in an affidavit dated July 13, 1939.