Is Fernando Poe, Jr. a natural—born Filipino?

Going by popularity, there is no doubt that Fernando Poe, Jr. is the main frontrunner in this coming May 10 elections. But the issue on whether he is even qualified to run for the position of president has yet to be clarified. No one questions the fact that he is a Filipino citizen. The question is whether he is a natural-born Filipino.

National Archives Director Ricardo Manapat has presented papers to show that Fernando Poe, Jr. is not a natural-born Filipino. Now three National Archives staffers have claimed that Director Mapanat ordered them to forge those documents. Manapat says the documents are not forged, they were just enhanced. "Enhance" means "heighten or intensify". This is obviously an issue that has to be settled as soon as possible. Those investigating whether Poe is a natural-born citizen or not should go by documentary evidence. They should be totally objective and not influenced by feelings or set opinions.

The office that will decide this is the Commission on Elections, the government agency that the Supreme Court says entered into an illegal contract for automated elections. If delicadesa still existed, all the officials involved in the flawed contract would have resigned. Now, the most influential businessmen in the country are calling for the ouster of Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos and Commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco. Under the Constitution, Comelec Commissioners can be removed only by impeachment. In fairness to the Comelec officials, the Supreme Court did not categorically say that graft and corruption were involved in the bidding. The term it used was "the bidding and award process was fatally flawed". Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. cast a dissenting opinion and specifically said that "there was no graft and corruption".

In the case of National Archives Director Ricardo Manapat, he filed for an indefinite leave of absence. "As a matter of personal honor, I am hereby voluntarily going on leave to protect the institution I have faithfully served and dispel any notion that I will in any way use this office to defend myself and otherwise undermine and compromise any investigation that under the circumstances will surely ensure." He saw the charges filed against him as an opportunity to prove his innocence.

Election is only four months away. We don’t recall any election with so many candidates for president and vice president. Never also have so many movie personalities run for office. Our only wish is that the election be peaceful and orderly and that the manual counting be accurate.

What is important is for the voters to know what the individual candidates stand for. We say individual candidates because political parties today do not represent a program of government. That is why politicians can shift from one party to another. So far, there has been a minimum amount of name-calling but the campaign period has not officially begun. Ballots are not only better than bullets; election is better than people power, which can get out of hand. It should always be the very last resort.