Poe-Llamanzares v. Comelec (March 8, 2016; G.R. No. 221697)
CASE DIGEST: MARY GRACE NATIVIDAD S. POE-LLAMANZARES, Petitioners, vs. COMELEC AND ESTRELLA C. ELAMPARO Respondents. (March 8, 2016; G.R. No. 221697).
Grace Poe-Llamanzares wishes to run for the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. However, she's a foundling. Her parents are unknown. Mr. and Mrs. Militar who found the infant Grace in a church gave her to Mr. and Mrs. Poe, her adoptive parents.
Under the Constitution, no person who is not a natural-born citizen shall serve as President of the Philippines.
ISSUE: Is Grace a natural-born citizen or a naturalized citizen or something in between?HELD: Grace is a natural-born citizen. Adopting these legal principles from the 1930 Hague Convention and the 1961 Convention on Statelessness is rational and reasonable and consistent with the jus sanguinis regime in our Constitution. The presumption of natural-born citizenship of foundlings stems from the presumption that their parents are nationals of the Philippines. As the empirical data provided by the PSA show, that presumption is at more than 99% and is a virtual certainty.
It is apparent from the enumeration of who are citizens under the present Constitution that there are only two classes of citizens: (1) those who are natural-born and (2) those who are naturalized in accordance with law. A citizen who is not a naturalized Filipino, ie., did not have to undergo the process of naturalization to obtain Philippine citizenship, necessarily is a natural-born Filipino. Noteworthy is the absence in said enumeration of a separate category for persons who, after losing Philippine citizenship, subsequently reacquire it. The reason therefor is clear: as to such persons, they would either be natural-born or naturalized depending on the reasons for the loss of their citizenship and the mode prescribed by the applicable law for the reacquisition thereof. As respondent Cruz was not required by law to go through naturalization proceedings in order to reacquire his citizenship, he is perforce a natural-born Filipino.
Grace Poe-Llamanzares wishes to run for the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. However, she's a foundling. Her parents are unknown. Mr. and Mrs. Militar who found the infant Grace in a church gave her to Mr. and Mrs. Poe, her adoptive parents.
Under the Constitution, no person who is not a natural-born citizen shall serve as President of the Philippines.
ISSUE: Is Grace a natural-born citizen or a naturalized citizen or something in between?HELD: Grace is a natural-born citizen. Adopting these legal principles from the 1930 Hague Convention and the 1961 Convention on Statelessness is rational and reasonable and consistent with the jus sanguinis regime in our Constitution. The presumption of natural-born citizenship of foundlings stems from the presumption that their parents are nationals of the Philippines. As the empirical data provided by the PSA show, that presumption is at more than 99% and is a virtual certainty.
It is apparent from the enumeration of who are citizens under the present Constitution that there are only two classes of citizens: (1) those who are natural-born and (2) those who are naturalized in accordance with law. A citizen who is not a naturalized Filipino, ie., did not have to undergo the process of naturalization to obtain Philippine citizenship, necessarily is a natural-born Filipino. Noteworthy is the absence in said enumeration of a separate category for persons who, after losing Philippine citizenship, subsequently reacquire it. The reason therefor is clear: as to such persons, they would either be natural-born or naturalized depending on the reasons for the loss of their citizenship and the mode prescribed by the applicable law for the reacquisition thereof. As respondent Cruz was not required by law to go through naturalization proceedings in order to reacquire his citizenship, he is perforce a natural-born Filipino.