G.R. No.

161434 March 3, 2004 Pangasinan, b) a certification issued by the Officer-In-Charge

of the Archives Division of the National Archives that no
MARIA JEANETTE C. TECSON and FELIX B. DESIDERIO, available information about the marriage of Allan F. Poe and
JR., petitioners, Paulita Gomez could be found, c) a certificate of birth of
vs. Ronald Allan Poe, d) Original Certificate of Title No. in the
The COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, RONALD ALLAN name of Lorenzo Pou, his tax declaration and death certificate
KELLY POE (a.k.a. FERNANDO POE, JR.) and VICTORINO
X. FORNIER, respondents. COMELEC dismissed SPA No. 04-003 for lack of merit. 3 days
later, Fornier filed his motion for reconsideration and denied by
Facts: Comelec en banc.
On 31 December 2003, respondent Ronald Allan Kelly Poe,
also known FPJ, filed his certificate of candidacy for President 1. WON SC has jurisdiction to determine
of the Philippines under the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang qualification of a candidate
Pilipino (KNP) Party. In his certificate of candidacy, FPJ, Dismissed for want of jurisdiction.Tesco invoke the provisions
representing himself to be a natural-born citizen of the of Article VII, Section 41, paragraph 7, of the 1987 Constitution
Philippines, stated his name to be "Fernando Jr.," or "Ronald in assailing the jurisdiction of the COMELEC when it took
Allan" Poe, his date of birth to be 20 August 1939 and place of cognizance of SPA No. 04-003 and in urging the Supreme
birth to be Manila. Court to instead take on the petitions they directly instituted
before it.
Fornier initiated, on 09 January 2004, a petition docketed SPA
No. 04-003 before the COMELEC to disqualify FPJ and to The rules categorically speak of the jurisdiction of the tribunal
deny due course or to cancel his certificate of candidacy upon over contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications
the thesis that FPJ made a material misrepresentation in his of the "President" or "Vice-President", of the Philippines, and
certificate of candidacy by claiming to be a natural-born Filipino not of "candidates" for President or Vice-President. A quo
citizen when in truth, according to Fornier, his parents were warranto proceeding is generally defined as being an action
foreigners; his mother, Bessie Kelley Poe, was an American, against a person who usurps, intrudes into, or unlawfully holds
and his father, Allan Poe, was a Spanish national, being the or exercises a public office. In such context, the election
son of Lorenzo Pou, a Spanish subject. Granting, petitioner contest can only contemplate a post-election scenario.
asseverated, that Allan F. Poe was a Filipino citizen, he could
not have transmitted his Filipino citizenship to FPJ, the latter It is fair to conclude that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court,
being an illegitimate child of an alien mother. Petitioner based defined by Section 4, paragraph 7, of the 1987 Constitution,
the allegation of the illegitimate birth of respondent on two would not include cases directly brought before it, questioning
assertions - first, Allan F. Poe contracted a prior marriage to a the qualifications of a candidate for the presidency or vice-
certain Paulita Gomez before his marriage to Bessie Kelley presidency before the elections are held.
and, second, even if no such prior marriage had existed, Allan
F. Poe, married Bessie Kelly only a year after the birth of 2. WON FPJ is a Filipino citizen
respondent.
Section I, Article IV, 1987 Constitution now provides:
Petitioner, presented in COMELEC several documentary "The following are citizens of the Philippines:
exhibits - 1) a copy of the certificate of birth of FPJ, 2) a "(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the
certified photocopy of an affidavit executed in Spanish by adoption of this Constitution.
Paulita Poe y Gomez attesting to her having filed a case for
bigamy and concubinage against the father of FPJ, Allan F. "(2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the
Poe, after discovering his bigamous relationship with Bessie Philippines.
Kelley, 3) an English translation of the affidavit, 4) a certified "(3) Those born before January 17, 1973 of Filipino mothers,
photocopy of the certificate of birth of Allan F. Poe, 5) a who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of
certification issued by the Director of the Records Management majority; and
and Archives Office, attesting to the fact that there was no "(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law."
record in the National Archives that a Lorenzo Poe or Lorenzo
Pou resided or entered the Philippines before 1907, and 6) a The term "natural-born citizens," under Section 2, Article VII, of
certification from the Officer-In-Charge of the Archives Division the 1987 Constitution2 defined to include "those who are
of the National Archives to the effect that no available citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform
information could be found in the files of the National Archives any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship."
regarding the birth of Allan F. Poe.
Through its history, four modes of acquiring citizenship -
FPJ, presented 22 documentary pieces of evidence, the more naturalization, jus soli, res judicata and jus sanguinis – had
significant ones being - a) a certification issued by Estrella M. been in vogue. Only two, i.e., jus soli and jus sanguinis, could
Domingo of the Archives Division of the National Archives that qualify a person to being a “natural-born” citizen of the
there appeared to be no available information regarding the Philippines.
birth of Allan F. Poe in the registry of births for San Carlos,

1 The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all 2 No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born
contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at
President or Vice-President, and may promulgate its rules for the least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the
purpose. Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election
Considering the reservations made by the parties on the Dissenting
veracity of some of the entries on the birth certificate of Carpio
respondent and the marriage certificate of his parents, the only Jurisdiction:To hold that the Court acquires jurisdiction to
conclusions that could be drawn with some degree of certainty determine the qualification of a candidate for President only
from the documents would be that - after the elections would lead to an absurd situation. The Court
would have to wait for an alien to be elected on election day
1. The parents of FPJ were Allan F. Poe and Bessie Kelley; before he could be disqualified to run for President. If the case
2. FPJ was born to them on 20 August 1939; is not decided immediately after the election, an alien who wins
3. Allan F. Poe and Bessie Kelley were married to each other the election may even assume office as President before he is
on 16 September, 1940; finally disqualified. Certainly, this is not what the Constitution
4. The father of Allan F. Poe was Lorenzo Poe; and says when it provides that "[N]o person may be elected
5. At the time of his death on 11 September 1954, Lorenzo Poe President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the
was 84 years old. Philippines."The clear and specific language of the Constitution
prohibits the election of one who is not a natural-born citizen.
Being public documents, the death certificate of Lorenzo Pou, Thus, the issue of whether a candidate for President is a
the marriage certificate of Allan F. Poe and Bessie Kelly, and natural-born Philippine citizen must be decided before the
the birth certificate of FPJ, constitute prima facie proof of their election.
contents.3
Governing Laws: The 1935 Constitution and the Spanish Civil
The trustworthiness of public documents and the value given to Code, the laws in force in 1939, are the governing laws that
the entries made therein could be grounded on 1) the sense of determine whether a person born in 1939 is a Philippine citizen
official duty in the preparation of the statement made, 2) the at the time of his birth in 1939. Any subsequent legislation
penalty which is usually affixed to a breach of that duty, 3) the cannot change the citizenship at birth of a person born in 1939
routine and disinterested origin of most such statements, and because such legislation would violate the constitutional
4) the publicity of record which makes more likely the prior definition of a natural-born citizen as one who is a Philippine
exposure of such errors as might have occurred. citizen from birth. In short, one who is not a Philippine citizen at
birth in 1939 cannot be declared by subsequent legislation a
In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it should be natural-born citizen.
sound to conclude, or at least to presume, that the place of
residence of a person at the time of his death was also his General Principles if the Filipino father is legally known
residence before death. because the filiation (blood relation of illegitimate child to the
father) of the child to the Filipino father is established in
In case proof of filiation or paternity would be unlikely to accordance with law, the child follows the citizenship of the
satisfactorily establish or would be difficult to obtain, DNA Filipino father. This gives effect, without discrimination between
testing, which examines genetic codes obtained from body legitimate and illegitimate children, to the provision of the 1935
cells of the illegitimate child and any physical residue of the Constitution that "[T]hose whose fathers are citizens of the
long dead parent could be resorted to. A positive match would Philippines"[16] are Philippine citizens.
clear up filiation or paternity.
Nature of Citizenship the illegitimate child must prove to the
In case proof of filiation or paternity would be unlikely to proper administrative or judicial authority the paternity of the
satisfactorily establish or would be difficult to obtain, DNA alleged Filipino father by "sufficient and convincing
testing, which examines genetic codes obtained from body documentary evidence." Clearly, an administrative or judicial
cells of the illegitimate child and any physical residue of the act is necessary to confer on the illegitimate children Philippine
long dead parent could be resorted to. A positive match would citizenship. The mere claim of the illegitimate child of filiation to
clear up filiation or paternity. a Filipino father, or the mere acknowledgment of the alleged
Filipino father, does not automatically confer Philippine
But while the totality of the evidence may not establish citizenship on the child. The State must be convinced of the
conclusively that FPJ is a natural-born citizen of the veracity of such claim and approve the same. Since the
Philippines, the evidence on hand still would preponderate in illegitimate children need to perform an act to acquire or perfect
his favor enough to hold that he cannot be held guilty of having Philippine citizenship, they are not natural-born Philippine
made a material misrepresentation in his certificate of citizens. They become Philippine citizens only from the
candidacy in violation of Section 78, in relation to Section 74, of moment the proper administrative or judicial authority approve
the Omnibus Election Code. Fornier has utterly failed to and recognize their filiation to their alleged Filipino fathers.
substantiate his case before the Court, notwithstanding the
ample opportunity given to the parties to present their position Proof of Filiation After the birth of one who is not a natural-
and evidence, and to prove whether or not there has been born Philippine citizen, a subsequent legislation liberalizing
material misrepresentation, which, as so ruled in Romualdez- proof of filiation cannot apply to such person to make him a
Marcos vs. COMELEC, must not only be material, but also natural-born citizen. A natural-born Philippine citizen is
deliberate and willful. The petitions were dismissed. expressly defined in the Constitution as one who is a citizen at

3 document, no evidence shall be admissible other than the original

Section 3, Rule 130, Rules of Court- Original document must be
produced; exceptions. - When the subject of inquiry is the contents of a document itself, except When the original is a public record in the
custody of a public office or is recorded in a public office
birth. If a person is not a citizen at birth, no subsequent
legislation can retroactively declare him a citizen at birth since
it would violate the constitutional definition of a natural-born
citizen.

To establish his Philippine citizenship at birth, FPJ must

present either an acknowledgement in a record of birth, or an
acknowledgment in some other public document executed at
the time of his birth. An acknowledgment executed after birth
does not make one a citizen at birth but a citizen from the time
of such acknowledgment since the acknowledgment is an act
done after birth to acquire or perfect Philippine citizenship.