I.

Introduction
Much has been said about the history of politics in the Philippines, the Guinness
book of records even rank the country as the second most corrupt country in the
world. It shows that our beloved country is incompetent in executing the laws in the
full extent because of corruption, and it also show that majority of leaders the people
are voting are not even qualified to hold the office to the fullest potential of the
position.
Now in the high time of Philippine politics as the 2016 election approach, one
candidate name Sen. Grace Poe was questioned of her legitimacy as a Senator and her
eligibility to run for the highest office of the Philippine Government due to
Citizenship issue.

II.

Issues
1.) Whether or Not Grace Poe is a Citizen of the Republic of The Philippines under
Article IV Section 1 of the Constitution.
2.) Whether or Not Grace Poe is Natural Born Filipino as defined under Article IV
Section 2 of the Constitution.
3.) Whether or Not Grace Poe election as a senator is legal under Article VI Section 3
of the Constitution.
4.) Whether or Not Grace Poe is eligible to run for the president under Article VII
Section 2 of the Constitution.

III.

Discussion
The first issues concern is the citizenship of Sen. Poe, if she is a Filipino citizen
or a stateless person, as a foundling as defined by the law, is the state of a child where
his/her parental origins is unknown, in that regard considered stateless because there
is no law for foundlings in the Philippines and there will be annotation on the birth
certificate of the child that she was a foundling and this regard logic would state that
there is difference in privilege for a foundling and a natural-born. The law clearly
classified the natural born and the foundling that they are in a different class.

In the case of Sen. Poe as a foundling she was adopted by a Filipino Couple, and
in the process of adoption, the statelessness of a child was abolish due to legal
actions, it is implied that when the adoptive parents is Filipino, the citizenship of the
Adoptee will be Filipino, thus canceling the former birth certificate status and
amending it with no annotation that it is the amended copy (Domestic Adoption act of
1998 SEC. 14. Civil Registry Record. An amended certificate of birth shall be
issued by the Civil Registry, as required by the Rules of Court, attesting to the
fact that the adoptee is the child of the adopter(s) by being registered with
his/her surname. The original certificate of birth shall be stamped cancelled
with the annotation of the issuance of an amended birth certificate in its place
and shall be sealed in the civil registry records. The new birth certificate to be
issued to the adoptee shall not bear any notation that it is an amended issue).
Thus because adoption is a legal proceeding, the adoption perfected the
citizenship of Sen. Poe, does qualify her as a Filipino Citizen legally under Article IV
Section 1 but disqualify her as a natural-born.
The second issues concern is whether or not Sen. Poe a natural born Filipino,
according to Article IV Section 2 of the constitution. Natural-born citizens are
those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform
any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect
Philippine citizenship in accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall
be deemed natural-born citizens. As a foundling she has no nationality, until she
was 5 when she was adopted, as there is no provision in the laws about foundling to
be natural born, thus there is no generally accepted principle in the international law
about foundlings, neither we are a signatory of international law about foundlings, nor
the Philippines deprive her to have a nationality, because she is a Filipino by legality
but not as a natural born even though circumstantial evidence my say that she is a
Filipino but there is a big question if she is also a legitimate natural born because
there are also a lot of Asians who resembles Filipino Features.

Third issues concern is, if Sen. Poe is qualified as a senator under Article VI
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least thirty-five years of age, able
to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less
than two years immediately preceding the day of the election. As a foundling she
is not a natural-born Filipino because there are legal actions to perfect her citizenship
by the virtue of her adoption, it is not the fault of the constitution to not include
foundling as a specific provision, it is just clear that the constitution should be
amended to serve the present time, but because there is no written law about it we
could not do otherwise.
She may be qualified for the 2 years residency in the Philippines but the laws of
the land clearly specify the natural-born citizen, the laws specifically distinguish and
classify the requirements for a senator.
The last issues concern is, If Sen. Poe qualified to run for presidency in
accordance with Article 7 Section 2. No person may be elected President unless
he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and
write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the
Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election. the issue
for being a senatorial candidate is the same as the presidential issue, it is about if she
is a natural-born Filipino or not, the answer is still the same, as a foundling she was a
stateless person but was able to perfect her citizenship due to the legal procedure in
the nature of adoption.
The residency of Sen. Poe is also questionable due to the use of her American
passport on 2010, she gave her oath of allegiance on 2006 but she only renounces her
American Citizenship on 2010 thus only making her residency 6 years and was not
able to reach the 10 years minimum requirement for residency.
IV.

Conclusion
Sen. Poe is a Filipino Citizen in accordance with Article IV Section 1 of the
constitution. The following are citizens of the Philippines:

[1] Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution;
[2] Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
[3] Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect
Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and
[4] Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
Specifically paragraph 4, but was not able to qualify as a natural-born under Article
IV Section 2 of the constitution. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens
of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or
perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine citizenship in
accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born
citizens. Because she was a foundling, her parental origins is questionable, and
because of that she is not qualified to hold a position of Senator and President in
accordance to Article VI Section 3 No person shall be a Senator unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least
thirty-five years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident
of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of
the election. and Article VII Section 2 . No person may be elected President
unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to
read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a
resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such
election..