Grace’s birth records altered, says petitioner

MANILA, Philippines - A losing senatorial candidate has questioned the authenticity of the birth certificate Sen. Grace Poe submitted before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET).

“There were some alterations on the birth certificate she has submitted, which must be answered by Poe’s camp,” Lito David of the Kapatiran party-list said.

David said Poe’s name in her foundling birth certificate in 1968 was Mary Grace Natividad Contreras Militar.

He said Poe had no birth certificate with her new surname, since the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. and actress Susan Roces adopted her in 1974. David claimed it was only in December 2006 when Poe’s last name in her birth certificate was changed.

“This just shows the… bad Filipino trait na kapag pwedeng lumusot, lulusot. She may have lied and why? As early as 2006, her camp already tried to chart her political career to the presidency. That explains why her documents were hastily prepared,” David said.

“Where was the birth certificate which Poe used when she applied and was granted a Philippine passport in 1998?” he added. 

“What was the reason Poe decided to change her birth certificate in 2006, the very year she decided to re-acquire her Filipino citizenship?” he said.

David has also questioned the legality of the senator’s foundling documents.

He said that Poe was not “validly adopted” since the decision on her adoption papers was issued only by a municipal trial court in San Juan. He said a regional trial court should decide adoptions.

Guidelines

The SET has set guidelines for its oral argument on the disqualification case against Poe to be held at the Supreme Court on Sept. 21.

In a three-page advisory released to parties yesterday, the seven-member tribunal chaired by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the main issue to be resolved is whether Poe is a natural-born citizen.

David and Poe were also directed to submit their respective position papers on the issue until today.

“The parties are granted not more than 20 minutes each to make their opening statements. The interpellations by members of the tribunal

shall immediately follow after each presentation of the arguments by the party. The time allotted for counsel to argue shall be exclusive of the time devoted to interpellation by members of the tribunal,” read the advisory signed by SET secretary Irene Guevarra.

“A party who opts to waive the right to give an opening statement shall nonetheless be present during the oral argument to answer the questions from the members of the tribunal, if any,” it added.

In the preliminary conference last week, the SET decided to drop the residency issue against the senator, citing the rule on the filing of disqualification petitions within 10 days from proclamation of the candidate.

The SET is composed of six senators – Vicente Sotto III, Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Bam Aquino, Cynthia Villar and Nancy Binay – and three SC justices – Carpio and Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Arturo Brion.

Discriminatory

Minerva Ambrosio, founder of Child Justice League and long-time governor for the National Committee on Legal Aid of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, believes the citizenship issue against Poe discriminates against overseas Filipino workers and their families who migrate to other countries for economic benefits.

Ambrosio, who is also a member of the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle, cited the statement of Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo that Poe does not deserve to be president because she once renounced her Filipino citizenship.

“I respect her right to express her sentiment. However, it fails to take into consideration the many reasons why our countrymen, who are living abroad and who took on another citizenship, make such difficult decisions, more often than not in the hope of making a better life for themselves, their parents, their children,” she told journalists.

“The decision is not as simple as what is right or wrong and they should not be faulted for doing so. There should be respect and understanding, especially for Filipinos making those decisions. It’s a hard and painful decision to make, but it is always done with the best interest of the family in mind,” Ambrosio added.

She said the citizenship issue has often been used as a demolition tool by candidates against their opponents, citing the case of Robredo’s husband – the late interior secretary Jesse – when he ran in Camarines Sur.

De La Salle University law professor Katrina Legarda, a known expert on family law and advocate of women’s and children’s rights, earlier said she believes the citizenship issue against Poe is a form

of discrimination against abandoned children.

Nothing wrong

Vice President Jejomar Binay said he sees nothing wrong with Poe’s declaration of her presidential bid even though she is facing a disqualification case over her citizenship.

“She has all the right to declare that she will be a candidate,” Binay told a breakfast forum in Quezon City yesterday.

“We’ll only know that the person is a candidate once he or she files the COC (certificate of candidacy),” he added.

Poe is expected to announce her candidacy in a press conference today.

Binay had appealed to the public not to speculate on the disqualification complaint against Poe and let the SET decide on the matter.

Poe’s camp believes David’s complaint was a ploy to prevent the senator from seeking a higher post in 2016.

The Vice President had denied he was behind David’s filing of the petition against Poe. –With Edu Punay, Helen Flores