Lawyer: Negative DNA results boost case vs Poe

MANILA, Philippines — The negative DNA results of Sen. Grace Poe will work against her in the disqualification case filed before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), the lawyer of petitioner Rizalito David said on Thursday.

"Definite negative results will not help them. The findings in the DNA testing will have a negative impact in so far as her already precarious defenses are concerned," lawyer Manuel Luna said.

READ: Grace Poe's woe: DNA match turns out negative

Luna noted that the negative DNA results would somehow affect how the SET will resolve the case against the senator.

David, a defeated senatorial bet and presidential aspirant, earlier filed the case seeking to unseat Poe in the Senate.

The petitioner claimed that Poe is not qualified to be a senator as she is not a natural-born Filipino.

"In so far as the impression of the tribunal or the members thereof are concerned, the more it will lend credence to our allegation that she has no known parentage," Luna said.

Luna added that Poe could be considered stateless, stressing that he cannot sit as a senator nor run for president.

"Article 7 is very clear, one of the qualifications of one aspiring for president is he or she must be a natural-born (citizen) and a resident of the Philippines," Luna said.

In the October hearing, Supreme Court senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, chair of the SET, argued that a DNA match is a "conclusive presumption of filiation" of Poe.

"If you have a conclusive match that is a conclusive presumption, if you have a DNA match, that would solve all our problems here because you cannot argue against that anymore," Carpio said.

"If you can present that DNA match, that would be wonderful, counsel," Carpio continued. "But in the meantime, we understand your position that you are holding on to the argument that there is a presumption."

Earlier this week, Poe admitted in a radio interview that the DNA test results with her supposed biological relatives turned out negative.

However, she remains confident that she will win the cases filed against her, citing that her camp has legal basis to support her claims that she is a natural-born Filipino.

Poe is also facing several disqualification cases before the Commission on Elections, seeking to invalidate her certificate of candidacy for president in the 2016 national elections.

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