WHAT WENT BEFORE

Fernando Poe Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MAIN STORY: Carpio urged to inhibit self in DQ cases against Poe

THE LATE Ricardo Manapat, former director of the National Archives, figured in a controversy during the 2004 presidential election after he came out with papers that supposedly raised doubts about the Filipino citizenship of then presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

The documents included the bigamy case petition filed by a Paulita Gomez against the late actor’s father, Allan Fernando Poe, on July 16, 1939; a marriage contract between the two, supposedly signed on July 5, 1936; a birth certificate of Allan F. Poe’s; and verification that Lorenzo Poe or Lorenzo Pou did not reside in the Philippines before 1907.

The records showed Poe’s mother, Bessie Kelly, was an American and his father was a Spanish citizen and if Allan Poe did marry Gomez in 1936, that would make Poe an illegitimate child. These were used to file a disqualification case against Poe in the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

In January 2004, Manapat, testifying before the Comelec said that some of the documents submitted were in fact copies taken from the archives’ microfilm records.

However, days after his testimony, three of Manapat’s subordinates alleged that Manapat had fabricated the documents to discredit the Filipino citizenship of Poe.

The movie star was a rival of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who appointed Manapat to the National Archives in 2002.

The Comelec later dismissed the disqualification case against Poe and Manapat was charged with falsification of public documents in the Office of the Ombudsman.

Poe’s disqualification case was brought to the Supreme Court where the documents, along with the records of the elder Poe’s subsequent marriage to Bessie Kelly, were the crux of the deliberations on Poe’s status as a natural-born Filipino.

But in March 2004, the Supreme Court, voting 8-5 with one abstention, threw out the petition seeking to disqualify Poe from the presidential race. The high court also denied with finality motions for it to overturn its previous ruling.

While Poe won the challenge to his citizenship, he lost the election to Arroyo. He protested his defeat, but died from a massive stroke seven months after the election.

Manapat passed away in December 2008 due to a heart-related ailment.

In his book “Endless Journey: A Memoir,” retired Gen. Jose Almonte mentioned the association between Antonio Carpio and Manapat.

On pages 241-242 of the memoir, Almonte said: “Tony introduced me to Ric [Manapat]. I would later learn from Tony how he got to know Ric. During the campaign, Tony got hold of an advanced copy of “Some Are Smarter than Others.”

“Some Are Smarter than Others,” written by Manapat, is a 40-page pamphlet published in September 1979. An expanded and updated book version under the same title was published in 1991. Compiled by Ana Roa, Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives