Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Issues on Sen. Grace Poe’s citizenship and residency were the meat of Tuesday’s (January 19) oral arguments on her cases before the Supreme Court.
Poe personally appeared before the court to observe. Her lawyer Atty. Alexander Poblador faced the justices.
Among those who extensively questioned Poe’s camp were Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo De Castro and Antonio Carpio. The two justices voted against the presidential candidate in a separate case before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET).
De Castro reiterated that a foundling can only be a Filipino citizen, but not a natural-born citizen.
She added that nobody saw the senator being born in Iloilo. De Castro even argued that one has to go through a process before being declared a foundling by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Carpio questioned Poe’s arguments based on the 1934 Constitutional Convention, which states that children whose parents are unknown should not be considered natural-born citizens.
Associate Justice Mariano Del Castillo questioned why Poe had to renounce her U.S. citizenship. Poblador said Poe was married to a Filipino-American and like any wife who wanted to preserve solidarity of family, she decided to follow her husband.
Poblador reiterated that it was only an honest mistake that Poe indicated her length of stay in the country as only six years and six months during the filing of her certificate of candidacy (COC) in 2012.
Meanwhile, Poe said she’s ready for whatever resolution she’ll get.
“We subjected ourselves to this process precisely because we respect the law and the legal process. Whatever the decision will be here we’re ready to accept it. On the other hand, we are optimistic and we are truthful in our statements that is why even if you say I’m nervous, I’m unafraid,” the senator said in a mix of Filipino and English.
CNN Philippines’ Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
