Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON
The Supreme Court has been asked to issue a show cause order against the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) officials and explain why they should not be cited in contempt of court for interfering in the case of Senator Grace Poe.
In a 15-page urgent manifestation with motion, Atty. Manuelito Luna, counsel for former Senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, said the high court may issue a show cause order against CHR Chairperson Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon and Commissioners Gwendolyn LL. Pimentel-Gana, Karen Lucia S. Gomez, Leah C. Tanodra-Armamento and Robert Eugenio T. Cadiz.
“CHR officials should be told that the matter being litigated does not concern foundlings in general,” Luna said.
Last Feb. 24, the CHR, in a memorandum reminded the Supreme Court that the country has the obligation to see the welfare of a child including foundlings like Poe.
READ: CHR to SC: State has obligation to grant foundlings PH nationality
CHR explained that by nature, a foundling’s right to a Philippine nationality at birth is self-executing—meaning, there is no need for Congress to pass a law before a foundling can be considered a Filipino citizen.
“In line with judicial decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the opinions of most highly qualified publicists in international law, the State has the obligation to grant them Philippine nationality even absent an enabling local law since it is an obligation erga omnes (toward all) to prevent statelessness among foundlings,” the CHR said.
“By its nature, the right to a nationality of foundlings is an independently enforceable human right,” the CHR added.
A foundling is a child whose parents were unknown. As such, Poe is a foundling. She was abandoned at a church in Jaro, Iloilo in 1968. Afterward, she was adopted by celebrity couple Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces.
READ: CHR, mag-iimbestiga rin sa DQ case ni Sen. Poe
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) cancelled her certificate of candidacy for failure to meet the basic requirement in running for president—being a natural-born Filipino citizen. Poe then took the case to the high court.
Luna, in his latest manifestation said that based on the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission, the CHR was created to focus its attention to more severe cases of human rights such as protection of rights of political detainees, treatment of prisoners and the prevention of tortures, fair and public trials, cases of disappearances, salvaging and hamletting and other crimes committed against the religious.
“Suffice it to state that petitioner’s [Poe] cases should be the least of CHR’s concern since the same do not involve severe cases of human rights or human rights violations involving civil and political rights,” Luna added. RAM
