Lawyer confident of winning disqualification case vs Poe

One of the petitioners seeking the disqualification of Koalisyon ng Nagkaka-isang Pilipino (KNP) candidate Fernando Poe Jr. from the presidential race in May expressed confidence yesterday that they will win their case before the Supreme Court (SC).

Lawyer Ma. Jeanette Tecson said it might also be too late for Poe to establish filiation and, subsequently, obtain status as a natural-born Filipino since his father, Allan Fernando Poe, had died on Oct. 23, 1951.

Poe’s camp, on the other hand, expressed optimism that the concurring opinions of the amici curiae will finally put the issue of Poe’s citizenship to rest.

"This will end in the dismissal (of the petition to disqualify Poe)," KNP spokesman and former Negros Oriental Rep. Miguel Romero said.

Tecson refused to accept the consensus of the four amici curiae (friends of the court) that even illegitimate children — provided they can prove their blood relation with their Filipino fathers — should be allowed to run for public office.

"I remain confident that once the SC makes the legal evaluation, it will rule in our favor by granting our petition to disqualify (Poe)," Tecson said.

She insisted that the records of the 1935 constitutional convention show that only legitimate children can automatically follow the citizenship of their Filipino fathers. She said illegitimate children should take the citizenship of their mothers.

In Poe’s case, Tecson said, he would have to carry the citizenship of his mother, American Bessie Kelly, because he was born before his parents married and is thus considered an illegitimate child. "Definitely," she said, "his being illegitimate is not yet a dead issue."

"We have consistently maintained that (Poe) has not presented any proof of filiation under any of the ways provided by the Civil Code," she said. ""He has not presented a will, record of birth or public document signed by his father... wherein (Poe) was categorically recognized as his son."

"Neither has he filed an action to compel such recognition and to show that he is in conscious possession of the status of an illegitimate child," she said.

Tecson recalled that one of the amici curiae, University of the Philippines (UP) Law professor Ruben Balane, enumerated the means by which a person can prove filiation, or relationship to one’s father — through a record of birth, a will or public document signed by the father.

Poe, she said, "has not done that up to this time," adding that an action to compel recognition "can only be filed during the lifetime of the father."

"It is, possibly, too late for him to produce all the solid proof needed to establish his filiation and citizenship," she said.

Upon further query of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., Tecson said Balane also clearly stated that the burden of to prove Poe’s filiation and citizenship lies on Poe’s shoulders, since he is the one claiming to be a natural-born Filipino.

Besides this need to establish filiation, she added that the question of whether Poe is an illegitimate child or not is very material in the case and "to our mind, the core of what will be the Supreme Court’s decision."

Tecson’s basis for this line of reasoning is the SC’s clear and settled ruling in the Morano vs Vivo case, which was decided when the 1935 Constitution was in effect.

The Supreme Court ruled then that the provision in the 1935 Constitution granting Filipino citizenship to those whose fathers are Filipino covered only legitimate children.

In fact, Tecson said, Fr. Joaquin Bernas, another amici curiae who expressed his position on the Poe disqualification case, acknowledged the existence of the Morano doctrine and said the SC must overturn this ruling and admit it committed a mistake in order to issue a ruling favorable to Poe.

"Will the court admit that it was wrong? We believe that it was correct and we are using that case as basis," she said.

Even SC Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, Tecson said, noted during the oral arguments Thursday that records of the 1935 constitutional convention show that only legitimate children are covered by the citizenship provision.

Morales, Tecson said, "read the deliberations of the 1935 Constitution.

She added that while Bernas argued that there should be no discrimination against illegitimate children by depriving them of political rights and that to do so would be a violation of the constitutional provision providing equal protection of laws, the country’s civil laws really make a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, as well as their rights.

The marriage of Poe’s parents might have legitimated him, but Tecson said Poe cannot use his parents’ marriage contract as basis by which to prove his blood relation to his father.

The belated union made Poe an illegitimate child and, since, under those laws, he must adopt his mother’s American citizenship, Poe is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, she said.

Under the law, natural-born Filipino citizens need not perform any acts to perfect their citizenship.

Earlier, other groups opposed to Poe’s candidacy even came out with paid advertisements that said Poe’s birth certificate is fake and the entries on the document are dubious, thus there is no way to prove Poe’s citizenship.

There were even rumors that the KNP standard-bearer once used an American passport, though they have not been proven.

Poe’s spokesman, Sorsogon Rep. Francis Escudero (NPC), said the Poe camp hopes the concurrent opinions of the amici curiae on the matter will end the issue.

The amici curiae, Bernas, Balane, retired Justice Vicente Mendoza and former UP law school dean Merlin Magallona concurred that "blood relation" is all that is needed for a child to acquire the citizenship of either parent.

Moreover, the amici curiae said the Constitution does not make any distinction about whether or not a candidate running for public office is a legitimate child. — With Nikko Dizon