Friday, March 18, 2016

A Foundling Called Poe: The Supreme Court's Search for the Dragon Warrior

No text has been this much awaited since the last installment of Harry Potter (which, incidentally, was referenced to by the principal legal defender of the Philippine Government in what must be the most controversial election case of decade). The manuscript, which rivals the thickness of Javellana v. Executive Secretary and La Bugal-B’laan v. DENR, concerns a foundling named Poe (no, this is not about a black-and-white, slightly obese, kung fu-fighting bear from China who was destined to become dragon warrior), and her bid for the highest position in the land.

It is interesting to note that in addition to the 47-page main decision of Poe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC, the other justices felt it necessary to write their own lengthy, separate concurring and dissenting opinions. This divided court reveals the complexity of the issues involved, and the difficulty of arriving at a decision. Indeed, the implications that would result from this decision would vastly affect not only the meaning of citizenship and the treatment of foundlings, but also the powers of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and the conduct of elections in the country.

The case involves two consolidated petitions assailing the resolutions of the COMELEC granting the petitions of Estrella Elamparo (Estrella) and Francisco Tatad (Tatad), et al. for the cancellation of Poe’s certificate of candidacy. The Elamparo petition argued that (1) foundlings are not natural-born Filipinos, and assuming arguendo that they are, the reacquisition of citizenship through RA 9225 does not reestablish such status; that (2) even if through RA 9225 Poe becomes a natural-born Filipino, she still falls short of the residency requirement as her residency should only be counted from July 2006 when she reacquired Philippine citizenship under the said Act. On the other hand, the Tatad petition follows a similar logic, arguing that since the Philippines follows the principle of jus sanguinis, foundlings cannot be considered natural-born Filipinos because of their unknown parentage; blood-relationship is what determines the natural-born status. The Tatad petition goes on to explain that Poe cannot rely on international law to confer upon her the natural-born citizenship status since international law requires domestic legislation, and there exists no domestic law which governs such conferment. On the reacquisition of citizenship through RA 9225, Tatad contends that the reacquisition of the status of natural-born is only applicable to natural-born citizens; at most, Poe is a naturalized citizen. Agreeing with Elamparo, Tatad also maintains that Poe only acquired her domicile in Quezon City only from the time she renounced her American citizenship which was sometime in 2010 or 2011.

In a nutshell, the case revolves around the following issues— (1) whether foundlings are considered natural-born Filipinos, and (2) whether Poe has satisfied the residency requirement (What is the reckoning point in determining residency?). Another correlated issue which is of equal importance is the jurisdiction of the COMELEC. Can the COMELEC rule on the eligibility of a presidential candidate? For the purpose of this blog entry, the discussion of the issues will only make reference to the main decision, the dissent of Justice Carpio, and the concurring opinion of Justice Jardeleza. The writer concedes that a richer analysis of the case may be had had she been able to read all the opinions.

On the first issue, the 1935 Constitution (the applicable law in Poe’s case) identifies who are Filipino citizens—
Article IV-Citizenship

Section 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines:

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption of this Constitution.
2. Those born in the Philippine Islands of foreign parents who, before the adoption of this Constitution, had been elected to public office in the Philippine Islands.

3. Those whose fathers are citizens of the Philippines.

4. Those whose mothers are citizens of the Philippines and, upon reaching the age of majority, elect Philippine citizenship.

5. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

The silence of the 1935 Constitution on the status of foundlings led the Court to look at the intent of the framers of the constitution. On one hand, the main decision, siding with the Solicitor General, contends that the reason for non-inclusion of foundlings was “not because there was any objection to the notion that persons of ‘unknown parentage’ are not citizens but only because their number was not enough to merit specific mention.” Justice Perez also pointed to the discussion of the framers where the latter acknowledge the existence of international law that governs the treatment of the nationality of foundlings. In other words, the silence of the constitution is not for the purpose of excluding foundlings, but for the avoidance of redundancy. On the other hand, the legal maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius was invoked in ruling against Poe. Justice Carpio in his dissent staunchly maintained that the framers of the 1935 Constitution categorically rejected the proposal to include foundlings as citizens of the Philippines in a vote. To Justice Carpio, this rejection is more indicative of the framers’ intent.

The writer is more inclined to take Justice Jardeleza’s take on the issue. I agree with the esteemed justice “that the exact reason why the Convention voted down Sr. Rafols' proposal to explicitly include ‘children of unknown parent’ may never fully be settled.” What is clear, however, that there is no intent to make foundlings stateless, and consequently deprive them of rights that citizenship entails. I am of the belief that the constitution, whether is it the 1935 or 1987 Constitution, is (or at least should be) a living constitution whose interpretation should be geared towards the attainment of justice and the protection of human rights. As the Solicitor General pointed out, “foundlings are a ‘discrete and insular’ minority who are entitled to utmost protection against unreasonable discrimination applying the strict scrutiny standard.” As Justice Jardeleza explains, it becomes the burden of government to prove that the classification is necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that it is the least restrictive means to protect such interest.

But assuming arguendo that the text of the constitution is to be strictly adhered to, the evidence on Poe’s parentage is convincing. If blood-relation is the basis for a natural-born status, Poe should be considered a natural-born. Justice Jardeleza points out that the standard of proof of absolute certainty that the COMELEC has imposed on Poe is unfair as jus sanguinis is a principle of nationality, and not a rule of evidence. I subscribe to the argument that the high probability (at least 99% chance) of her being of Filipino parentage should suffice.

On the issue of Poe’s residency, although I agree with main decision that the fact and not the statement of residence should be controlling, I argue that the reckoning point must be after the acquisition of citizenship and the renunciation of the foreign one. I concur with the Elamparo-Tatad petitions that while Poe may have established animus manendi coupled with animus non revertendi, she was still an American citizen at that time and was governed by immigration laws. The Romualdez-Marcos v. COMELEC case does not apply as Marcos was already a Filipino citizen at that time. There was no change in citizenship.

As to the third issue, it would seem to me that the Court has taken the power to determine the eligibility of candidates to run for office from the COMELEC. I stand with Justice Carpio that this could become a dangerous precedent that could totally cripple the COMELEC. Justice Carpio says that the COMELEC has the power to determine nuisance candidates for practical reasons, i.e. for the efficient conduct of the elections. This is why I found it odd that the majority of the Court ruled that the issuance of certificates of candidacy is a ministerial duty, that the COMELEC has no jurisdiction in declaring that there are material falsehoods or misrepresentation in a candidate’s application. The Court tried to justify this by nuancing ‘disqualification’ from ‘ineligibility’, which to me are mere semantics.


To conclude, while I applaud the Court’s efforts to keep the country from turning into the House of Slytherin who view those that are not “pure-bloods” as inferior, it should take caution in emasculating government departments. The long term effects of this may not be worth the search for the country’s dragon warrior.

It is now part of the laws of the land

Under our law, the decisions of the Supreme Court shall form part of the law of the land; such power vested must be exercised wisely and with caution. In the recent Supreme Court decision with regard to the issues surrounding Sen. Grace Poe’s qualification as President, the Supreme Court ruled on the issues regarding the COMELEC’s Jurisdiction, Poe’s Parents, Foundlings as natural born citizens, etc.
The focus of this writing shall focus on Poe’s citizenship whether her parents are Filipinos and foundlings are natural-born citizens.

On the first issue, the Supreme Court ruled according to the high probability of Poe being born by Filipino parents and her typical Filipino features. To support this, the court relied on the statistics offered by the Solicitor General.

I find this a little disturbing, probability contain doubts and should not be included in a conclusion, even with the 99% chance that a child born in our country is a Filipino, there still can be a small possibility that a foreigner can be born in the Philippines.
On the second issue whether foundlings are natural-born citizen, the court ruled that as a class foundlings are natural born citizens because of the our law is silent and does not condemn foundlings and ruled that there is no intention to exclude foundlings as citizens, the court also discussed about the provision of our constitution that natural-born citizens are the ones who does not perform an act, that such act must be performed personally and not by the authorities.

Still don’t agree, while it is true that when there is ambiguity it should be interpreted according to legislative intent. For me, the law is clear and there is no need for a different interpretation. The constitution clearly states that “Section 2. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship.” The law says about “any act” which is any person can interpret that any act performed shall make a person naturalized. It does not talk whether who shall perform the said act.

Even with questioned ruling, the law is also clear that this will be part of the law of the land and all we can do is to abide whether agreeable or not. We must move on until the Supreme Court Over turns its own decision.


Natural-born Citizenship Status as a matter of Loyalty

The Constitution provides that for one to be qualified in the highest office of the land, he must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship shall also be deemed natural-born citizens. 

In a landmark decision promulgated by the Supreme Court en banc on March 8, these provisions in the Constitution were interpreted to consider a foundling found within the territory of the Philippines to be a natural-born citizen, thus, is qualified to run for the highest office in the land. This is the case of Grace Poe who was found abandoned as a newborn infant in the Parish Church in Iloilo, registered as a foundling with Filipino adoptive parents, renounced Filipino citizenship, acquired American citizenship and lived in the United States, reacquired Filipino citizenship, and now in the Philippines seeking for the highest position in the land. 

To emphasize, the Court relied on two generally accepted principles of international law. The first is Article 14 of the 1930 Hague Convention on Certain Questions Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws under which a foundling is presumed to have the "nationality of the country of birth”. The second is the principle that a foundling is presumed born of citizens of the country where he is found, contained in Article 2 of the 1961 United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The Court said that while the Constitution’s enumeration is silent on foundlings, there is no restrictive language which would definitely exclude foundlings either. On its strictest sense, however, a foundling with unknown parentage could not fall within the purview of natural-born citizens as defined in the Constitution. The Court seemed to have absolutely relied on international law with less consideration on the attendant circumstances bereft of the intent of the lawmakers. Quoting the opinion of Atty. Melancio Sta. Maria, only the certitude of being a natural-born can provide a legal and objective standard to the questions of genuine attachment to the country and dedication to the affairs of the nation. Poe falls short of this genuine attachment for having renounced Philippine citizenship. She spent majority of her adulthood in the United States where she earned a degree in Political Science and later on acquired American citizenship thru his dual citizen husband. There she established her life and served in a scientific agency of the United States government. 

The Constitution provides for the minimum qualifications for the highest office in the land. This does not mean, however, that it be interpreted with minimum standards and slightest scrutiny as well. I am not against the principle that a foundling whom parentage is unknown should be clothed with the right for a natural-born citizenship status of the country where he is found. But in Poe’s case, I consider it as an exemption to the rule. Her subsequent acts of renouncing Philippine citizenship and leaving for the United States are clear showing of disregard to the national interest. Were it not for the death of her father after the latter’s defeat in the 2004 Presidential elections, Poe would have not returned in the country. 

A natural-born citizenship status is an inherent right and a privilege of Filipinos mentioned in the Constitution with a corresponding duty to maintain allegiance to the country. Strictly, allegiance must be regarded as one that is uninterrupted. Renouncing this would negate fealty not only to the laws of the nation but also to the people. In view of these principles, I stand against the ruling of the Supreme Court that Poe is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.    

The Grace Woes: Is she really qualified?

               Last Friday night, the Supreme Court released their decision on allowing presidential aspirant Grace Poe-Llamanzares to continue on as being a candidate in the 2016 Presidential Elections.

               The majority on what the decisions argued was in regards if Grace Poe is a Natural-born Filipino or not. Providing different statistical evidence during the year of her birth regarding the population of Filipinos and of Foreigners, and as well as the intention of the framers regarding the nationality of Foundlings. All of which was convincing, it really gave an in-depth consideration to what Grace Poe really is. However the issue of her residency was not well expounded or debated, but given all the circumstances and evidence provided, I could see that it has a fewer moment of being argued.

               Withstanding all the convincing evidence that the defending party presented, the procedural laws and doctrines given, and different precendents to justify the claims, I am still not convinced that she, Grace Poe, is qualified to run as president. This is not on the basis of supporting another political party, but rather on the basis of what the law clearly states.

               The defense party, as their answer, did not state what the Constitution says, they found comfort on the 1935 constitution and as well as the international laws. The 1935 Constitution is no longer our active Constitution, but rather the 1987 constitution, which is the Supreme law of the land which all other laws must conform to. As stated in Statutory Construction, if the law is clear there is no need to interpret it. Since what is stated in the present Constitution is that only Natural-born and not naturalized citizens and those who have resided in the Philippines in a period of ten (10) years before the day of the elections are the exclusive requirements for one to be voted as President. There is no other way to interpret this.

               I appreciated that the defense made us of the statistical evidence to prove Grace Poe is of Filipino decent, in which would be useful in the Reacquisition of citizenship (R.A. 9225) since it would restore ones previous Nationality as defined in the case. However, I am not convinced that even though there is a 99.89% chance or 1/667 ratio of her being born of Filipino decent. The reason being that, what other or further proof could state that she doesn’t belong in the 99.89% of Filipino decent or out of the 667 that she is the only one with alien parents. The case only stated statistical chances, and not a solid guarantee that the defendant is truly a natural born citizen of the Philippines. Furthermore, facial features are not a proper test in determining the nationality of a person. It may work on occasion, but certainly not reliable most of the time. Basis, there are several people who are of Filipino descents, but their facial features are those of Chinese descents or have been mistakenly presumed of different Nationality.


               Finally, I like that fact that Grace Poe and her Family is moving back in the country, and starting a new life. But I am not sure that her loyalty is with the country. If she can do that with America, What are the chances that she could do that here. Nonetheless, I shall give her the benefit of the doubt and to prove everyone wrong. Since there is nothing I can do to overrule the decision of the Supreme Court, I shall have to wait and see what the people will decide on Election day.  

Grace Poe an eligible Presidential Candidate says the Supreme Court

It’s official. Grace Poe-Llamanzares, the former American citizen daughter of the famous Filipino celebrity couple is now a candidate for President of the Republic this May 2016. The Supreme Court decision is mind-boggling especially for me a law student as it goes against to what is Constitutionally written which as far as I know is straightforward and is very much not very open to different interpretation. According to Article VII Sec 2 of the Constitution that a candidate for the Presidency should be a natural-born citizen of the country and must have resided in the Philippines for 10 years up until the time of the election. Both qualifications are the focal point of the controversy that the candidacy of Grace Poe finally hurdled via a 9-6 vote by the Supreme Court en banc decision. It came also as a surprise that the 3 justices that were part of the Senator Electoral Tribunal that voted against the eligibility of Grace Poe as a candidate ended up as minority vote when it came to the en banc decision on the same matter.
                As opposed I am to the outcome on this matter, as a lawyer-in-training I have to give my due respect to the Supreme Court whose primary responsibility is to exercise judicial powers which on an issue as controversial as this one would make any law practitioner exhaust all of the acquired knowledge in order to come up with a decision. As a young aspiring law practitioner my knowledge of the law is not yet extensive but to give my two cents on the matter I would like to express my opinion in favor of how the Supreme Court decided even though it may have been a split one.
                The Grace Poe candidacy rests on two main points, natural born citizenship and residency. On the issue of natural born citizenship Grace Poe should be grateful to the Supreme Court as they showed compassion on this matter. The Constitution was framed in a way that foundlings were visibly excluded thus were not included on those births that the Constitution grants natural born citizenship upon. Grace Poe is a foundling and under normal human circumstance would be a situation that is very unfavorable for any person but with the Constitution framed the way it is the application of the law becomes a matter of interpretation as foundlings are clearly excluded from the provisions of citizenship under Article IV of the Constitution. I commend the Supreme Court decision on showing the spirit of the law rather than enforcing a literal interpretation of the law. It shows more wisdom of the law those who voted on the literal interpretation of the provision as it would clearly show how Grace Poe is not a natural born citizen of the country but then again it shows compassion on the part of those who voted in favor of natural born citizenship of Grace Poe as it shows that the law of the land promotes equal protection and would grant favor to citizens that were dealt unfavorable conditions through no fault of their own such as Grace Poe’s situation as a foundling.  Wisdom of the law deserves a lot of respect but it is also commendable to drive that wisdom in a way that it would show favor to those who are oppressed as our laws guarantees equal protection as would a foundling wherein Grace Poe is one.
                As for the 2nd issue of residency I would have expected that this one would have been dealt with less interpretation and a more direct application of the law. But going through the Supreme Court’s rationale on this issue even on this front they gave the petitioner Poe more leeway in hurdling this portion of the said controversy. The courts decided in favor on the acts of good faith by the petitioner Poe and with it the overt acts supporting that the mistakes were made in good faith instead of viewing the situation plainly. By viewing the situation plainly and in a straight forward manner the decision could have tilted into an unfavorable one for the petitioner as the information she provided was done under oath and without considering her overt acts the law would clearly dictate that Poe does not meet the eligibility for residency. But then again the Supreme Court decision gave consideration on this circumstances that showed petitioner’s act of establishing a domicile of choice and accompanied with liberal interpretation of the law showed that petitioner Poe made a mistake in good faith in stating the date of when she started her residency here in the Philippines even though it was well before the time she re-acquired her Filipino citizenship. My two cents on the matter is that Grace Poe’s intent showed that she wanted to re-establish her domicile here as she was driven by the effects of the death of his adopted father and to that effect she wanted to take care of her adopted mother. It showed a lot of Grace Poe’s Filipino character wherein the nature of her decision to re-establish domicile here in the Philippines is very family-oriented. Also a minor note on the residency issue, even if the date when Grace Poe established her residency was not adjusted it would have made her short of a few months in meeting the residency requirement. According to the book of Isagani Cruz that the rationale of the 10-year residency is that it would make the candidate knowledgeable of the relevant issues that heeds to be addressed should the candidate win the post. Does the knowledge that the few months that Grace Poe would have gained be substantial enough as against someone who did reside for the full 10 years?  
                 The issue of Grace Poe’s candidacy is now done but this victory is just a means to an end for her. Looking ahead the decision is still in the hand of the electoral process this coming May. Grace Poe handled the situation with a lot of character and it really showed her eagerness to become a servant of the Filipino people. She showed traits of a true Filipino with the way she acted throughout her controversial residency and in doing so gained the favor of the majority of the Supreme Court. But my little knowledge of the law still says that that is not enough in considering who the next President of the state should be.
                So is it Grace Poe for President in May? I don’t think so.  

                 

Who Is Above The Law?

One might think that the election race in the Philippines is but a popularity contest. I cannot blame them when most of the politicians running for office or who are already sitting there are television personalities. And they are also the very controversial ones. One big and perfect example of which is presidential candidate Mary Grace Natividad Poe-Llamanzares.

Apart from her controversial qualifications – residency to be exact, the decision of the Supreme Court has also gained critics. Lawyers, professors, non-lawyers, common man and students alike all have their fingers dipped in the bowl. As a requirement for this blog and a student who needs to keep abreast with the current events especially a topic that concerns the Constitution, I am obliged to join the fun.

As for Poe’s qualifications, according to the Constitution, she is unfit to run. But far more experts than me have defended her. So who am I to judge when I am not even half done with law school. But for me, she is a foundling. And our Constitution did not provide a presumption that she is a Filipino. She has to prove that her parents are Fiilipinos. Others are trying to use pity as defense saying that as a foundling she has been neglected and yet the state gives her the burden of proving her parentage. Again, we are talking about the law. We go right back to dura lex sed lex. It is her battle to fight especially she is running for the highest position in the land. First fight, she already did not make much of an effort. She even got seated as a Senator. Second, she denounced her Filipino citizenship when she migrated to the United States of America. Then she conveniently reacquired her Filipino citizenship when one day she decided she will run for public office. And this time she cried foul when her previous COC and current COC are being questioned. My view on this, stands – follow the Constitution. Good faith should be immaterial. As a lawmaker, she should be first in having enough information with its provisions. I do not see the point of giving leniency to a person because he or she is a politician. Even if there was good faith, she failed to correct the mistake. If a common person made such mistake, it shall be declared right away that it was bad faith on his part. It was clear negligence and should not be excused. I give it to her for having the intention to establish her residency by fixing the necessary documents for her and her family. She gets a point there.

But as for the decision of the Supreme Court, I lost confidence altogether for the justices. As a baby in law school, we have been taught several times that the decisions of the Supreme Court adheres to the Constitution which is the law of the land. Of course apart from the law, there are also decisions or jurisprudence to be considered. But if this instance, we ignore our main guide, then it will be easy to ignore it the second time or the third time around. The decision was mainly on the jurisdiction of the COMELEC to decide whether she qualifies to run for office. And it was held that the COMELEC was wrong in cancelling Poe’s certificate of candidacy. It was found the COMELEC committed grave abuse of discretion. This was based on the case of Fermin v. COMELEC, wherein the COMELEC resolution was amended due to lack of provision for declaring the ineligibility of candidates. So what then is the role of the COMELEC?

This precedence on the eligibility of candidates for public office has set a very low mark in law and history. Yes, Poe may have the brains and the determination to improve the country. But the qualifications have no work around them. Yes, it is the Supreme Court who decided and I used to respect them all. But if they cannot be good examples now, who will follow the law? Who will abide by the Constitution or other laws for that matter? They, like Grace Poe will always find a hole and drill into it and get away in the end just to fulfill their dreams. In this day and age where social media has strong influence on the youth, what kind of example have they set forth? What kind of lesson did they impart to them? Was integrity upheld?


So now that this case has been decided upon, can we safely say that it is easy to manipulate the justice system? Are people are favored by the law? Are the politicians above the law? Are the well-known personalities always able to get away with the law?

Constitution v. Politics

It’s not about politics, it’s the Constitution

The Supreme Court has finally decided on presidential candidate Grace Poe ruling 9-6 in her favor.  Despite the allegations thrown against her regarding her citizenship and residency as a basis of her qualifications to run for the presidency, the court, ignored these constitutional provisions and allowed still, Senator Grace Poe to finally run in the May election.

Generally, the Supreme Court’s decision is final and binding on itself. However, in my own point of view, I am terribly dismayed with the Supreme Court’s decision. Disregarding the rule of law is the matter at hand here, several debates, moot courts and discussions by legal luminaries have been held in resolving the case of Grace Poe and most of them resulted in negating the contention of Grace Poe regarding her citizenship and residency. Many people looked at the political perspective, but this is actually not about politics, but rather the law itself, the Constitution.

The controversy about Grace Poe’s citizenship and residency is about the law and who is and not qualified to run for president. Under the 1987 constitution, section 2, article VII states that only a natural-born Filipino citizen is qualified to run for president, hence, it is clear and precise. [1] According to Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, “Grace Poe can be considered a Filipino under International Customary Law but only as a naturalized citizen and not as a natural-born Filipino citizen.”[2] I agree with him, based on what I have learned in the Sta. Maria Moot Court Cup, whereas, it was held that Grace Poe is not a natural-born Filipino citizen based on the legal basis presented by the mooters to the panels. SC Associate Justice Carpio also added that, “customary law can be followed so long as it does not violate provisions of the Constitution.” Clearly, there is a violation in certain provisions of the Constitution, particularly, section 2, article VII of the 1987 Constitution. Therefore, Grace Poe is not a natural-born Filipino citizen.

Our Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All political parties, organizations, and people should act in accordance with the Constitution and they should abide by the constitution and laws without any exception. No one is stopping her from running in presidency so long as she meets the qualifications stated in the Constitution. The problem here is that Grace Poe did not satisfy the requirements of her citizenship and her residency in the Philippines but the Supreme Court still allowed Grace Poe to run in the May election, despite her violations in regards to qualifications to run for presidency stated in the Constitution. I believed that the decision ignored the constitutional provisions and was looked in the political perspective of the matter.






[1] CONST., art.VII, sec.2
[2] http://www.manilatimes.net/poe-naturalized-not-natural-born/219972/