Husband to renounce US citizenship, says Poe

Sen. Grace Poe speaks during a Senate hearing in February. The senator and 2016 presidential aspirant says her husband, Niel Llamanzares, will also renounce his American citizenship to remove all doubts on her allegiance. INQUIRER PHOTO

To remove all doubts, Sen. Grace Poe has said her husband will also renounce his American citizenship.

Poe, who already renounced her US citizenship, noted that the dual citizenship of her husband, Teodoro Misael “Niel” Llamanzares, was being used against her.

“Nag-usap na kami ng aking asawa bagamat by birth siya naging citizen, para mawala na ang lahat ng pagdududa na ’yan at para ipakita niya ang kompyansa sa aking administrasyon, siya ay talaga namang magre-renounce,” she said in an interview over dzMM on Wednesday.

In fact, she said, her husband was now processing the documents needed to renounce his citizenship.

Poe pointed out, however, that her husband need not go through such process since his parents were both Filipino-born citizens.

“Huwag kayong mag-alala, hindi kayo magkakaroon ng American boy sa Malacañang,” she said.

In the case of her three children, the senator said the youngest and the second were both born in the Philippines while the eldest, 23-year-old Brian, was born in the United States and held dual citizenship.

Poe said she would leave it to her eldest to decide whether or not to renounce his US citizenship.

“Bilang magulang kinakausap ko siya. Ang sabi ko sa kanya, huwag syang magde-desisyon para sa akin lang. Bilang magulang, hahayaan mo ang anak mo na gumawa ng sarili niyang decision,” she said.

Should her eldest son decide to give up his US citizenship, Poe said it would not be a sacrifice because her son loved the Philippines anyway.

“Yung anak ko, die hard. Kaya para sa kanya hindi rin sakripisyo dahil mahal nya ang ating bansa pero hindi ko sya pipilitin,” Poe said. Maila Ager/RC

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