SUPREME Court chief justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno revealed that the high tribunal has presumed in the past that foundlings are natural-born Filipinos.
During the continuation of the oral arguments yesterday on the petitions by Senator Grace Poe assailing her disqualification by the poll body, Sereno grilled Commission on Elections commissioner Arthur Lim, posing tough questions about the constitutional provisions on citizenship, particularly on the theory of bloodlines and the rights of foundlings.
Sereno, during her interpellation of Lim, pointed out that the High Tribunal has made such presumptions on a number of instances, beyond simply applying the jus sanguinis (right of blood) principle.
Sereno also indicated that it was unfair on the part of the COMELEC to shift the burden on Poe to prove that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen, considering the fact that she has presumed in the past that people —including foundlings — are natural-born Filipinos.
Sereno first brought up the case of Tecson Vs. Comelec, which decided that Poe’s father, the late action film star Fernando Poe Jr., was a natural-born citizen and could run for the presidency.
In the said case, Sereno noted that the court presumed that Fernando Poe Jr.’s grandfather Lorenzo Poe was natural-born, despite the fact that the only proof of this was his death certificate in 1984.
The chief justice also presented during the oral arguments the case of Duncan vs. CFI, which she said involved a three-year-old foundling “who was given to the petitioners for them to adopt by a lawyer.”
Sereno said the identity of the mother was known only to the lawyer, who promised not to disclose anything about her.
Quoting the SC decision, Sereno stressed that there is a need “to apply the law with less severity and with compassion and humane understanding, for adoption is more for the benefit of unfortunate children.” (Eagle News Service)