Drilon says ‘animus revertendi’ provides leeway in Poe’s residency issue

Senator Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

If Senator Grace Poe can prove her intention to return to the Philippines while in the United States, her stay in the US could still be counted to the 10-year residency requirement for president or vice president, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Wednesday.
Drilon cited the principle of “animus revertendi” or “intention to return” when sought to react to Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco’s statement that Poe isnot qualified to run for either president or vice president in 2016 as she allegedly fails to meet the 10-year residency requirement in the Constitution.

“’Yun ‘yung kahit kayo po ay lumabas ng bansa o wala sa inyong distrito, ngunit kung meron kayo na sinasabing intensiyon na bumalik, yuon po ay hindi kailangan ang inyong physical presence sa isang lugar upang inyong residency ay ma-satisfy,” he said in a radio interview.

(It means that even if you’re out of the country or your district but if you have the intention to return, it doesn’t require your physical presence in an area to satisfy your residency.)

“As long as may balak kayong bumalik, at may intensiyon kayong bumalik sa inyong lugar na inyong pinanggalingan, yaan po ay bilang duon sa inyong residency,” he added.

(As long as you have a plan or intention to return, then that will be counted to your residency.)

Tiangco, interim president of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), claimed that based on Poe’s certificate of candidacy filed in October 2012, she was a resident of the Philippines for six years and six months by Election Day, May 13, 2013. By Election Day in 2016, he said, Poe would have resided in the Philippines for only nine years and six months—six months short of the requirement.

READ: Grace Poe not eligible for presidency, says UNA | Grace Poe qualified to seek higher office in 2016, Escudero says | Residency issue even helps Grace Poe—election expert

“Sabihin na natin na tama ang sinasabi ng UNA na 9 ½ lang si Senator Grace mula noong siya ay nagfile ng certificate of candidacy para sa Senado, ngunit ‘yung kanyang added years na siya ay nasa Amerika, kung maipapakita niya na meron siyang intensyon na bumalik yaan po ay bilang sa pagbilang ng sampung taon na residency,” Drilon said.

(Let’s say that UNA is correct in saying that Senator Grace would be resident of the Philippines for only 9 1/2 years based on the certificate of candidacy she filed when she ran for the Senate, her added years while residing in the US, if she could prove her intention to return, could be counted in the 10-year residency.)

Drilon, vice chairman of the Liberal Party (LP), is pushing for Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II to be the party’s standard-bearer in 2016. Some LP members are pushing for either a Roxas-Poe or a Poe-Roxas tandem in next year’s polls. IDL