SENATOR Grace Poe did not undergo any naturalization process, contrary to Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s claim that she was a naturalized Filipino citizen, her lawyer said on Monday.
Carpio, chairman of the Senate Electoral Tribunal hearing the disqualification case filed against Poe over her citizenship , said Article 4, Section 1 (5) of the 1935 Constitution should apply to the senator, which considers “those who are naturalized in accordance with law” as citizens of the Philippines.
But Poe’s lawyer, George Garcia, said that specific provisions only pertained to those who are undergoing a naturalization process.
“Wala naman kaming ina-undergo na naturalization process. Hindi naman kami nag-apply, hindi naman kami pumunta sa korte so paano mo ia-apply yung naturalization…?” Garcia said in an interview at the Senate.
He insisted that under international law, a foundling should follow the citizenship of the country where he or she was found.
In the case of Poe, she was found at a church in Iloilo in 1968 and was later adopted by the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. and veteran actress, Susan Roces.