TAYABAS, Quezon—Though he did not refer to her by name, no one was left in any doubt that Vice President Jejomar Binay was referring to possible rival presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe when he criticized Filipinos who left the Philippines, gave up their citizenship and swore allegiance to another country.
“There are those Filipinos who when the time comes will fight their own country because they have sworn allegiance to other countries,” he said in a speech here on Wednesday.
Binay was the guest speaker at the 200th birth anniversary of Quezon hero Apolinario de la Cruz, known as “Hermano Pule,” the founder of a Filipino-only Christian confraternity who led a major revolt against Spanish rule in 1841 based on a struggle for religious freedom and independence.
“Look at Hermano Pule, up to his last breath, even if his body was sprayed with bullets, he did not give up his citizenship,” Binay said.
Asked if he was referring to Poe, Binay replied with a grin: “It’s up to you to think that way.”
Asked if it was his opinion that any Filipino who in his or her lifetime had sworn allegiance to a foreign government should not be voted to office, Binay said: “All I’m saying is that these are the people who became citizens of other countries.”
Binay asked the reporters if they had read the oath that immigrants applying for United States citizenship have to take.
You have to swear allegiance to the US “to the point of taking up arms,” he said.
Binay also criticized unnamed administration officials whom he accused of having a dubious sense of nationalism.
“They say they love Filipinos but this early they are promoting as a future president of our country people who once turned their backs on and rejected their being Filipino. Is this love of country?” he asked.
Some in the Binay camp and others have raised the issue of Poe’s being constitutionally unqualified to run for high office because nobody knows for sure if she is a natural-born Filipino and that she lacks the required 10-year residency.
Though she grew up in the Philippines, Poe, the adopted daughter of movie stars Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces, finished her education in the US where she worked, married and acquired US citizenship.
She claimed to have returned to the country in 2004 when her adoptive father died, but reportedly did not give up her US citizenship until 2010, when she was appointed to the censors board.
As late as 2009, Poe was reportedly still using her US passport to travel to and from the Philippines, as shown by immigration records.
Some legal experts believe that Poe’s residency should be counted from 2010, the year that she is supposed to have renounced her US citizenship.
The Constitution provides that to be qualified to run for president or vice president, one must be a natural-born Filipino and a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the election.