Grace Poe: ‘I am Filipino by birth, abode and choice’

Sen. Grace Poe. JOAN BONDOC/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Grace Poe heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday that a petition to unseat her was finally filed at the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) as she could now answer the questions on her citizenship and residency.

“I am actually relieved that a petition has been filed so that I can answer the questions on my citizenship and residency. It is an opportunity for the truth to come out and for this issue to be resolved once and for all,” Poe said in a text message to reporters.

“I assure the 20 million plus fellow Filipinos who voted for me, as well as the rest of the country, that their confidence in me is not misplaced. I remain truthful to our countrymen. I am a Filipino by birth, abode and choice,” she added.

Losing senatorial bet Rizalito David initially planned to file the petition against Poe  Wednesday but failed due to lack of filing fee.

READ: Losing senatorial bet files petition to oust Grace Poe

According to David’s quo warranto petition, Poe is ineligible to remain in the Senate because she is foundling, or a “stateless” being.

David said this means Poe is not a “natural-born citizen,” as required for in the Constitution for senators.

Poe was abandoned in a church in Jaro, Iloilo province before she was adopted by the late action star Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) and actress Susan Roces.

“Being a foundling, her parents are not known and cannot be presumed as Filipino citizens, hence she cannot claim or acquire the status of a natural-born citizen,” David said.

David, however, was not the first to raise the issue of being a Filipino citizen or being a foundling against Grace Poe. In June, United Nationalist Alliance stalwarts Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco and lawyer Andy Bautista questioned Poe’s eligibility to run in 2016 using the same grounds.

The lady senator earlier described the move as a desperate act meant to stop her possible run in 2016.

READ: Grace Poe: I’m qualified

Poe has yet to decide whether or not to run for a higher post next year but she already emerged as the voters’ choice for president based on the latest voters’ preference surveys. With a report from Marc Jayson Cayabyab/IDL