Senator Grace Poe speaks to students during an open forum at Holy Name University in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. PHOTO BY ARNOLD ALMACEN/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Senator Grace Poe said she will no longer present the results of her DNA tests with possible relatives in Jaro, Iloilo, saying she and her camp are using legal basis, and not the DNA results, to prove in court that she is a natural-born Filipino citizen.
“Wala pa, wala pa namang official na natatanggap na resulta,” Poe said during a press conference on Wednesday, when asked about the results of the latest DNA tests she undertook with possible relatives from Jaro, Iloilo.
(None yet, we have yet to receive the official result.)
“Pero kung mayroon man o hindi, hindi naman namin ipriprisenta ito. Sapagkat yung aming mga basehan na legal ay hindi naman naka-anchor dito sa DNA test,” she further said.
(Regardless if there is a match, we won’t present it because our legal bases are not anchored on this DNA test.)
Poe’s citizenship and residency are the subjects of the disqualification cases filed against her at the Commission on Elections, which canceled her certificate of candidacy for president in the upcoming elections in May.
The senator appealed the Comelec’s decision at the Supreme Court, which started its oral arguments last Tuesday.
READ: SC oral arguments on Grace Poe vs Comelec
Aside from taking DNA tests, Poe’s supposed relatives from Iloilo also allegedly offered to exhume her biological parents to gather specimens for DNA testing.
Despite the disqualification cases she is facing, the senator said her husband, Teodoro Misael “Niel” Llamanzares, will still push through the process of renouncing his US citizenship.
READ: Husband to renounce US citizenship, says Poe
“Of course. Kung mapapansin niyo kasi yung sa akin ano, matagal na nga naproseso. Ilang buwan ang inabot kaya nga tinanong nila. Kaya lang I have to immediately do it in front of a public officer dahil nga I was assuming a post not to be able not to comply with that. Kailangan mong ilagay yung mga assets and liabilities.
(Of course. If you will notice, mine has been processed a long time ago. It took months that’s why they are asking. But I have to immediately do it in front of a public officer because I was assuming a post not to be able not to comply with that. You have to include the assets and liabilities.)
Marami kang mga kailangan suriing mabuti,” said Poe, who also renounced her US citizenship before she was appointed chair of the Movie Television Review and Classification Board in 2010.
(You have to scrutinize many things.)
“At saka isa pa ang asawa ko ay natural born talaga ‘yon. Nagkataon lang yung mga magulang niya nag-aaral du’n. Kaya nga hindi ko alam kung talagang nagiging isyu. Siyempre ‘yan ang hinahanapan nila ng dahilan, pero hindi naman talaga ‘yan isyu,” she further said.
(And another thing, my husband is a natural-born (Filipino). It just happened that his parents studied in (US). That’s why I don’t know if that will be an issue. Of course, they are finding reasons for such but that’s not really the issue.) RAM
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