Mole led Grace Poe to take DNA test

Sen. Grace Poe INQUIRER.net file photo

Sen. Grace Poe is taking a DNA matching test with a volunteer from Iloilo, having been persuaded that a mole on her forehead may be the key to proving her Filipino parentage.

The result of the DNA test will be known next week, her lawyer George Garcia said on Thursday.

According to Garcia, someone from Iloilo, where Poe was found in a church as an infant, approached the senator and showed her pictures that indicated they may be related.

Whether the “exact mole” as Poe’s was on the volunteer or on Poe’s possible parents, or even whether the volunteer was the possible parent, Garcia said he could not disclose just yet.

“But this will definitely answer on a personal level on her part the question, ‘Who am I?’” he said.

As soon they get the test results, they will file a manifestation with the Senate Electoral Tribunal to inform the panel and await its disposition on how to approach the evidence, Garcia said.

He maintained, however, that Poe’s case would not rest on the DNA test and that they could prove Poe is a natural-born Filipino based on what is in the law.

The lawyer said the DNA test was a personal decision on Poe’s part and she only informed her legal team after the process was begun.

“It’s a personal search for truth on the part of Senator Poe,” Garcia told a news conference on Thursday.–Erika Sauler