SC decision on mayor who used US passport ‘inapplicable to’ Poe case—lawyer

Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

The case of Kauswagan Mayor Rommel Arnado who was disqualified for using his American passport even after renunciation of his US citizenship is different from the case of Senator Grace Poe, her lawyer said Friday.

Arnado was disqualified from the 2013 elections for using his American passport after renunciation of US citizenship.

READ: Mayor who used US passport ousted

The Supreme Court (SC) held that the use of a foreign passport after renouncing one’s foreign citizenship “is a positive and voluntary act of representation as to one’s nationality and citizenship” and “does not divest one of the reacquired Filipino citizenship but recants the Oath of Renunciation required to qualify one to run for an elective position.”

“Lest the public be misled, the recent SC decision in Arnado vs Comelec (Commission on Elections) is inapplicable to the case of Sen. Grace Poe. No rhyme nor reason to conclude that they are the same,” Atty. George Garcia, counsel for the presidential candidate said.

READ: DQ’d  mayor’s case seen as litmus test for Poe citizenship issue

In the case of Poe, Garcia said the Senator no longer used her passport after her renunciation of her US citizenship on October 2010.

“The last time it was used by her was in March of 2010 or several months before said renounciation. This was confirmed by the entries on the US passport itself, the BI (Bureau of Immigration) travel records and was further amplified during the oral argument,” said Garcia.

However, Manuelito Luna, lawyer of former Sen. Francisco “Kit” Tatad, one of four disqualification petitioners against Poe in the Comelec, earlier cited records of US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs possibly showing that Poe still used her US passport after renouncing her American citizenship.

Luna said the documents indicated that Poe used her US passport in September 2011, a month before the same passport expired.

“I have pointed out in our memo that two evidence show the use of US passport in 2006 to 2011,” Luna said.
READ: Grace Poe’s use of US passport until 2010 renders kink in residency claim

Meanwhile, Garcia dismissed Luna’s argument.

“Malicious as it may seem, the attempt to muddle the facts and circumvent the truth at this point has no other intention but to influence the judicial process and sow confusion among the Filipinos,” Garcia said.

Instead of sowing confusion, Garcia said it would be best to wait for the SC decision.

“Let us all wait for the SC decision. Its forthcoming anyway. Whatever it may be, we should bow to its wisdom. This after all is what we call as the rule of law,” he said.

Poe’s petition questioning the Comelec decision canceling her certificate of candidacy has been submitted for resolution after all parties have submitted their respective memoranda. RAM